External evaluator of WBL4job project Alexandra Costa Artur visited Armenia on May 15- 18, 2023. The visit's main aim was to hold meetings with the coordinator and partners of WBL4JOB.
Alexandra Costa Arthur met with Salwa Nacouzi, Rector of UFAR, Zaruhi Soghomonyan, Vice-Rector of UFAR and the staff members involved in the project. They discussed the piloting of the project at UFAR and in Armenia generally, the strongest and weak points of the pilot. The external expert visited ACBA bank and met with Arsen Abrahamyan, Head of HR. In the discussion, Arsen Abrahamyan noted that the bank was delighted to be an associated partner of the project and benefited greatly from it. They informed me about the number of students who were hired after the work-based learning pilot.
At INECO bank Alexandra met with Tehmine Sargsyan, a senior recruiter and Elina Stepanyan, Head of talent acquisition. They also shared their experience on the project, and talk about the changes they want to have in the recruiting process. At the Union of Banks Alexandra met with the Director and had a long discussion on the importance of work-based learning in the banking system. Meetings in Yerevan were finalized with students and tutors.
Alexandra Costa Artur travelled to Gyumri to meet with the students of the pilot and their tutors. She witnessed the impact project had on the regional University, in students’ life, and their views. Alexandra visited Gyumri branch of ACBA bank to see the effect of the pilot on the regional bank, where she also met two students from the pilot already hired by the bank.
