Vocational Training

BRIDGE provides opportunities for vocational training in construction skills to help create short- and long-term employment for members of the most vulnerable households in the communities of small towns. Under this component BRIDGE Identifies those key construction related trades which are in demand in Armenian’s rural areas, Develops curricula for these construction skills, Selects training participants, Offers specific construction skills trainings relevant to the public works project to be implemented, Provides 27 days classroom training and 24 days on-site internship, monitored by BRIDGE’s vocational trainer, Offers Apprenticeship program for training graduates on a competitive bases, Builds capacity of regional vocational training colleges to provide BRIDGE designed trainings, Maintains and regularly updates the database of trainees, Gets the timelines of the construction projects being started to enhance job opportunities of the trainees, and Monitors the training results. Full training course consists of two parts: 27-day classroom and 24-day internship in the construction site. The classroom training is mainly about teaching theoretical and practical aspects of the trade. Training covers information on basic safety and workplace skills, mathematics, and vocabulary that is used in the construction sector. During the training, participants get acquainted with the tools used for the specialty they are being trained in as well as some related construction standards. . Students are having 6-hour sessions daily that include coffee breaks and lunch six days per week. After passing the final exam of the classroom training, students become eligible for participation in the internship. The students that pass classroom training final exams are placed in on-site internships on the BRIDGE public works and other donors’ project(s) being implemented in their community. The internship allows trainees to practice the knowledge and skills acquired under BRIDGE classroom training at the construction site. The trainees are supervised by the trainer that led them during the classroom training. This trainer keeps records on the trainees’ progress and ensures that the students gain the core practical skills needed to succeed in the particular trade they received training in. A stipend paid to trainees during their internship. The students may return to the classroom periodically if the trainer or supervisor feels that additional lessons or further explanations are necessary. Students who successfully complete the internships are presented with certificates of achievement indicating that they have passed the classroom training and can demonstrate basic competency in the practical application of the skills learned in the classroom. The internship concludes with the final examination: students who successfully pass the exam receive tool kits relevant to the trade they have been trained in. Students are enrolled into the BRIDGE vocation training program on competitive bases and eligibility is based on socioeconomic status of the applicants. Preference is given to the unemployed individuals from the target sites that correspond to the following criteria: Women heads of households with dependent children; Sole breadwinners of large families; Youth (ages 18-30); Individuals who have been unemployed for 6 months or more. Starting spring 2005, 28 trainings were conducted under BRIDGE program, and 387 people have passed full training course under Vocation Training Component. There are 5 training curriculums that are currently being offered under the program: Concrete Works and Stone Masonry, Painting and Plastering, Wood Flooring, External Water Systems and Pipe-fitting, and Tiling.