Representatives of career centers of a number of Armenian universities, as well as state bodies involved in the sphere and employment organizations took part in a seminar discussion on “Career issues of students and graduates in the context of the current labor market” organized by Yerevan State University’s Career and Graduates Center.

According to Rector of YSU Aram Simonyan, the issue of youth employment is of social and strategic importance because the lack of workplaces forces the new generation of youth to seek jobs abroad; in other words, it leads to the outflow of brains. According to Aram Simonyan, the connection between universities and employers is very weak.

Attending the event was Chairman of the RA Civil Service Council Manvel Badalyan. Speaking about the civil service system, Manvel Badalyan regretted to note that there are no winners in 20-22% of the contests and that goes to show the insufficient amount of knowledge of applicants. On the other hand, there are also cases when tens of applicants compete for a spot, but only one of them gets the job.

“I’m the one who is afraid the most because I fear that the youth will be desperate. I had a student who was appointed to office only after the 23rd contest,” says the President of the Civil Service Council and informs that in September, there will be a new system according to which applicants that have crossed the threshold of the exams will be provided with certificates to certify an applicant’s professional abilities.

Manvel Badalyan also realizes that youth who highly value their knowledge and skills are often not lured to work in the state sector due to low salaries.”Being a state servant also depends on the type of person; it is a ranking and even a mission,” says Mr. Badalyan.

The “State Employment Service” Agency also attached high importance to youth employment and there are even specific figures of employment. “There are currently 21,000 youth facing the issue of employment of which 14,000 are first-time job seekers, while 56% of employed youth are not working by their professions,” says Deputy Head of the Agency Artak Simonyan who also indicated the challenges and obstacles that youth often meet when seeking jobs, including wrong choice of profession, not meeting the level of education required by employers and, most importantly, lack of work experience.

The graduates’ issue of employment is solved differently from one university to the next. Some have career centers, while other universities have correspondents to handle the issues. “Our main objective is to develop formats for collaboration,” says YSU’s pro-rector on students, graduates and public relations Ruben Markosyan as he calls on fellow universities and proposes to meet at least once or twice a year and engage in dialogue.

The issue of graduates’ employment is more facilitated at Yerevan State Medical University after M. Heratsi because the field of activity is narrow. Pro-rector of the university Gevorg Yaghjyan mentions that the university has close ties with the RA Ministry of Health and medical institutions in the regions.

The Career Center at the State Engineering University of Armenia was the first to start its activities in Armenia years ago. Today, the career center has a manual entitled “Process of Career Planning” which it has graciously donated to YSU.

The Career and Graduates Center of YSU, which was the main organizer of the event, also has a rich history. Founded in 2006, the center has established many ties in the state and private sectors and one of the successful relations is with HSBC Bank through which many graduates have been employed.

With the help of YSU Career and Graduates Center, not only do the students find jobs, but work as interns for different organizations and participate in various seminars and courses as well.

Juliet Arushanyan