German Ambassador opened his heart for Armenia
People in Germany always say that the Armenians are clever people. You do not have oil or natural gas but you have intelligence, Germany's Ambassador to Armenia Hans-Jochen Schmidt said in Yerevan on June 20.
The German official today attended "Perspectives of Vocational Education and Training in Armenia" conference organized by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (German Agency for International Cooperation or GIZ).
The Armenian-German cooperation first of all aims to provide graduates of vocational education institutions with jobs.
"As one of the countries that recovered its economy after World War II, Germany is ready to share its experience with its partner countries that are willing to accept this support," said Hans-Jochen Schmidt.
During the conference, the results of "Employment-oriented Qualification in the Key Sectors of Economic Development in Armenia" three years project (2009 - 2012) were presented. The aim of the project was to promote economic development in Armenia by capacity building.
As the heads of the project underlined, development of vocational education and training will help open new work places and address the problem of unemployment in Armenia.
"The country needs qualified engineers as well as good workers. The use of labour force will reduce outflow of labor. Unfortunately, there are mainly women in Armenian villages," said the ambassador.
An e-portal was launched within the project which aims to unite the participants from Armenia and Georgia.
Hans-Jochen Schmidt is completing his diplomatic mission in Armenia and this was the last event he attended in the country. The outgoing ambassador is hopeful that he will return to Armenia in the future as his heart opened for Armenia and its people thanks to his Armenian friends.
