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THE MAIN CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES OF MATCHING THE HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR WITH THE LABOR MARKET

Aleksandr Hakobyan, AIPRG, YSU and TEMPUS National Experts’ Team on Higher Education

AIPRG Annual ConferenceLooking forward : The Glօbal Competitiveness of the Armenian EconomyThe World Bank, Washington DC, May 17-18, 2008

alexander@aiprg.net

I. INTRODUCTION

On May 19, 2005 Minister of Education and Science of Armenia signed the Bergen Communiqué of the Ministers of Education from the Bologna participating countries; thus Armenia officially joined the Bologna process committing itself to completing the implementation of main principles of the Bologna process by its specific action lines by 2010 and becoming part of the emerging European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

In 2007 the Government of the Republic of Armenia approved “State Program of the Development of Education for 2008-2015” containing the following reform directions in the higher education:

Provision of the growth of internal and external efficiency of the system;

Strengthening of the connection with the labor market;

Provision of the accessibility of the system for all the layers of the population;

Reforming of administration and state financing system;

Integration of the system into the European Higher Education Area.

Bologna reformsBologna reforms assume about ten main directions:

Adoption of easily readable and comparable degrees (qualifications);

Adoption of a system based initially on 2 and now on 3 main cycles;

Establishment of a system of credits; Promotion of mobility of students and

academic/administrative staff; Promotion of European cooperation in quality assurance; Promoting European dimension in higher education; Life-Long Learning (LLL); Increasing attractiveness of the European Higher

Education Area; Doctoral studies and synergy between European Higher

Education Area and European Research Area.

II. LIFE-LONG LEARNING (LLL): PROVISION OF A FIRM GROUND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HE IN CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE DEMANDS OF THE LABOR MARKET.

In Soviet times in Armenia there was an extensive network of institutes of retraining and professional development for different disciplinary areas as well as a network of continuing education courses within and outside HEIs to which a great importance was ascribed in the planned economy system in terms of efficient use of professional workforce. During the transition period, these structures lost gradually their importance as such and stopped functioning, being unable to adapt to changes and respond accordingly to the new requirements and challenges of market economy.

ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATION

Establishment of a close cooperation between the HEIs and “RA Employment Service” Agencies of the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues.

Armenia has practiced LLL during 1990s!

III. THREE-CYCLE SYSTEM OF HE: FROM AND FOR LABOR MARKET

BA MA( PhD)

IV. POPULARIZATION OF HE IN ARMENIA

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

90000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Students

V. “NOT DEMANDED SPECIALTIES” Remove not demanded specialties?

(extremal utilitaristic approach) Involve them into the market for research

workforce?

Recommendations:

1. Specialty scope extension2. LLL3. Major and Minor system /External Curricula

Courses/

MINI SURVEY: INTEGRATION OF ECTS AND THE LATTER’S CONNECTION WITH LABOR MARKET-HE MATCHING ISSUEThe Main Goals: To reveal the awareness of the students on ECTS. To compare the levels of awareness on ECTS

between experimental and control groups. To reveal the level of understanding and the main

aims of ECTS by students To find out how the students perceive their

readiness for entering the labor market.

MINI SURVEY ON ECTS

Sample:

MINI SURVEY ON ECTS

1. Awareness about the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System (which is being implemented now in YSU))

74.1% of the respondents are aware about ECTS out of which 52.5% (which is 38.9% of the whole sample) is directly engaged in the system (according to the responses).

 Interesting note: 11.5% of the Experimental group (1st year master) students are not aware about ECTS system, despite the fact that they study according to ECTS.

REMINDER: All 1REMINDER: All 1stst Year Master Students are engaged in Year Master Students are engaged in ECTS (EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS).ECTS (EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS).22ndnd Year Master Students study according to the Year Master Students study according to the traditional evaluation system (CONTROL GROUPS).traditional evaluation system (CONTROL GROUPS).

MINI SURVEY ON ECTS

2. Benefits from ECTS for 38.9% of students who are directly engaged in the system

81% - No Benefits (this number might also be justified with the fact that ECTS has been practiced for less than a year in YSU).

MINI SURVEY ON ECTS

ECTS Advantages

In %

MINI SURVEY ON ECTS

ECTS Disadvantages

In %

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