Increasing digitalization of the economy and society is profoundly affecting the world of work, and the trend is expected to continue and even accelerate in the years to come. The digital economy has considerable potential to promote the employment of young people. The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated economic and employment shock reinforced a pre-existing trend towards greater digitalization of employment, particularly in areas such as platform-based work, especially among young people.

As Armenia is gradually recovering from the compound crisis, it is clear that investing in the digital skills can help to increase the availability of high-quality employment opportunities for young people. In fact, the expansion of digitalization is more a necessity than a choice. Digital technologies can increase productivity and have the potential to improve the quality of job opportunities, especially for youth.

UNDP in Armenia remains committed to support digital skills development of youth in the regions as a key entry point for “future proof” careers. The digital skills development is implemented as part of the “Unleashing Employment and Income Generating Opportunities for the Youth in the Regions of Armenia” project funded by the Russian Federation. 

The project is supporting 80 young people in developing marketable digital skills through a 4-month training on web programming. By the end of the training, young people, aspiring to strengthen their digital knowledge, will be equipped with employment-ready programming skills in the ICT sector. The curricula provides hands-on training in web programming, networking, design, and English language.

The project supports young people looking to up-skill and re-skill through hands-on training program delivered by “Aren Mehrabyan” Foundation, which created a human-centered support system providing relevant high-quality engineering, technical, and other highly specialized education to youth with the focus on people with disabilities and conflict-affected population lacking proper knowledge and skills in the technical field, including IT.

It is noteworthy mentioning that the Foundation invested its own resources for the training program. The cooperation with the Foundation is among successful examples of public-private-partnership established between UNDP and the private sector for better employability of regional youth through provision of practical skills and knowledge in IT sector highly demanded by the local labor market.