Deadline: 19-Mar-21
USAID/Armenia is seeking applications from public, private and nonprofit organisations to empower youth and women to be actively engaged in the labor market through working with the private sector, Armenian government and education institutions, through evolving societal stereotypes and by transforming the policy regulatory environment.
The overarching goal of the Armenia Workforce Development Activity is to improve the soft and technical skills of youth and women and increase their linkages to occupations in key and/or growing sectors by reducing barriers to entry in the labor market.
Objectives
The objectives of the Armenia Workforce Development Activity are:
- Objective 1: The gap between the skills of the workforce and the needs of employers is reduced There is a substantial skills mismatch in the labor market between labor supply and demand. In order to address this, the workforce needs technical and soft skills that are responsive to employer needs. Particular attention should be paid to rural youth, women, and other marginalized populations. Recognizing that bridging the gap will be a complex undertaking, the Armenia Workforce Development Activity should improve coordination, utilization, and impact of partnerships with private and public sectors.
- Objective 2: Societal perceptions shifted to support effective labor market participation Another major gap in better utilizing Armenia’s human capital is how information is shared, utilized, and internalized. Social behavior change is an impactful approach to altering perceptions and is one way that these efforts could be undertaken. The PYD approach calls for the inclusion of families and communities in working with youth. Parental influence on children’s professions is one way to engage parents around youth’s workforce development.
- Objective 3: The operating and enabling legal regulatory environment of the labor market development is improved For Armenia to fully utilize its human capital, especially youth and women, it is necessary to improve the operating legal regulatory environment. There is a need to ensure that the GOAM initiates, implements, and enforces the necessary policy and regulatory reforms to improve access to the labor market.
Funding Information
- USAID intends to make one award not to exceed $7.5 million in total for the life of the award.
- The anticipated period of performance for award, if any, made under the Preparing Armenia’s Labor Market Addendum to the YP2 APS is June 1, 2021 – May 31, 2026.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility under the Armenia Workforce Development Activity addendum is restricted to implementing partners that are:
- Local entities. This includes public, private, for-profit, and non-profit organizations, as well as institutions of higher education, and non-governmental organizations. Further, the organization must be a legally recognized organizational entity in Armenia.
- Locally established partners (LEP) in Armenia. Unlike local entities, LEPs must demonstrate viability apart from USAID funding by showing that they have received at least as much in non-U.S. Government funding as they have received from USAID in the previous five years.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=331115