Armenian Team Presented Its VET Reform Case at CEMETS Global Reform Lab 2026

Lilit Adamyan, Executive Director of the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia (RUEA), participated in CEMETS Global Reform Lab 2026 in Zurich, Switzerland. The international programme, held from 20 to 25 September, focused on vocational education and training (VET) reform.The programme brought together policymakers, sector specialists, representatives of employers’ organizations and associations, as well as education leaders from Armenia, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Scotland, Nepal, and the U.S. state of Utah.

The Armenian team comprised eight representatives from RUEA, professional associations, the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the Republic of Armenia, GIZ, and the Embassy of Switzerland in Armenia.

During the first, online phase of the seven-month intensive Reform Lab programme, each team worked on a real reform challenge from its respective country. Over approximately three months, the Armenian team examined the challenges facing Armenia’s VET system and explored practical approaches to addressing them. The team’s work focused on transforming employers’ participation from individual initiatives into systemic, sustainable, and continuous cooperation.

The next key phase took place in Zurich from 20 to 25 September, where Armenia’s reform case was discussed with participants from different countries and international experts. This provided an opportunity to examine the reform challenge in an international context, compare it with the experience of other countries, and further refine its practical component.

During the intensive training sessions, particular attention was paid to mechanisms for implementing VET reforms, including how to translate the analysis of a system-level challenge into concrete change, how to engage key stakeholders, how to ensure the sustainability of a reform, and how to make its results measurable.

The knowledge and international experience gained through the programme will be applied by the Armenian team in its further work to strengthen employer engagement in Armenia’s VET system, particularly in institutionalizing cooperation between employers and VET institutions, better aligning VET with labour-market needs, developing work-based learning, and modernizing educational programmes.

CEMETS Global Reform Lab 2026 was implemented in Armenia with the support of GIZ Armenia, providing the Armenian team with an opportunity to work on a key VET reform challenge in an international expert environment.

In the final phase of the programme, by the end of 2026, the Armenian team will review the developed VET reform plan through the lens of international experience and evidence-based approaches, further clarify the potential mechanisms for addressing the identified challenge, and outline the next practical steps.

For the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia, participation in the programme creates new practical opportunities to further strengthen the link between VET and the labour market, develop systematic employer engagement, and expand the role of the private sector in education.