Azerbaijan introduces its first-ever validation process for workers in informal sector with EU support
May 12, 2021

Azerbaijan introduces its first-ever validation process for workers in informal sector with EU support


The first-ever validation process for certifying competences acquired through non-formal and informal learning has been introduced in Azerbaijan. The project, financed by the European Union and implemented by the UNDP with Azerbaijan’s State Agency on Vocational Education and the Education Quality Assurance Agency (EQAA), aims to reduce the precarity of working in the informal sector, and to develop a robust system of certification for skills.

As part of the new validation process, the first official examination for a certificate in drywall plastering recently took place at the Ganja State Vocational Education School on Industry and Technologies. The candidates underwent a self-assessment process, a written test, and a practical task. The examination committee included representatives from the EQAA, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population, an international and two local field experts.

It’s hard to describe how important this piece of paper is for me, said one of the beneficiaries, 34-year-old Zeynal Zeynalov. I’ve been hoping for something like this for years. With this certificate I can prove my skills and charge the right price for my work.

The EQAA will develop the same process for several specialties. 

This new validation process is part of a bigger project to modernise Azerbaijan’s vocational education and training system, entitled ‘Support for the establishment of Regional Industrial Vocational Education and Training Competence Centre in Ganja’, funded by the EU and implemented by UNDP and the State Agency on Vocational Education.

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