EU and UNDP support competitions on the development of vocational skills in Azerbaijan

European Union, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the State Agency on Vocational Education together with the “WorldSkills Azerbaijan” platform joined efforts to organise a competition on restaurant services for the first time in the country.

The competition was held with the support of the “VET for the Future” project funded by
the European Union. The event took place as part of the project’s support activities for the organization of national competitions and increasing local capacities to prepare for international competitions in various vocational areas. The aim is to emphasize the importance of skills in the economic development of the country and to support current steps in this direction.

The competition created an opportunity to discuss the current situation and development areas in the tourism sector, especially in the field of restaurant services. The increasing seasonal demand for quality restaurant services highlighted the importance of this topic.

For the first stage of the competition, 173 young people working and studying in this field from different cities of Azerbaijan applied and the applicants who successfully completed the second theoretical stage qualified for the final stage.

In the event, various vocational tasks were performed by the competitors. The jury consisting of local and foreign experts evaluated the participants based on the professional standards set by the “WorldSkills International” organization. At the end of the event, three winners were awarded.

“WorldSkills Azerbaijan” is the local institution of the “WorldSkills” global platform, which is known as the organizer of Olympic competitions in various skills directions. This movement aims to train professionals in accordance with the requirements of the labour market and global standards and to integrate those standards into the education system.

The “VET for the future development of VET providers’ excellence in Azerbaijan” project, implemented by UNDP in cooperation with the State Agency on Vocational Education, supports the WS Azerbaijan platform in the organization of local competitions in a number of vocational areas and strengthening the potential of related parties in line with the global standards.