Pharmaceutical Training on Quality Standards Launched .jpg) Training entitled “EU Guidelines on GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) for Pharmaceutical Production” was launched in Yerevan today as a joint initiative of the USAID-funded Competitive Armenian, Private Sector (CAPS) Project and the recently established GXP Center of Excellence. The training course aims to enrich the knowledge of industry specialists on EU GMP requirements. Twelve representatives of medicine-producing companies are participating on the training course; delivered by internationally-qualified Armenian GMP expert-trainers.
Armenia’s pharmaceutical cluster is making remarkable steps towards the introduction of GMP, a quality standard that most countries rely on today to import or produce medicines. In Armenia, however, as CAPS assessments amongst pharmaceutical companies have revealed, GMP knowledge appears to be deficient in a number of areas. Taking this into consideration, and, studying and assessing the Armenian pharmaceutical producers, CAPS international consultants Michael Kimber and Alain Kupferman developed a GMP training course in 2008, based on the World Health Organization’s basic and advanced GMP Training Modules, and adapted them to meet the Armenian situation. The training course was approved by the RA Minister of Health. The first “EU Guidelines on GMP for Pharmaceutical Production” course was delivered by Kimber and Kupferman in May-June 2009 for local producers, academic staff and business service providers. It was then followed by a “GMP Training of Trainers” course. Today, four of the 17 locally-trained trainers share their experience with beginners through the GXP Center of Excellence (founded by industry stakeholders) to ensure the sustainability of the program. During his speech at the opening of the course, Artak Ghazaryan, CAPS Chief of Party highlighted the importance of introducing high quality standards in the Armenian pharmaceutical industry and expressed hope that participants will apply the new skills and knowledge in practice. “The CAPS project is ready to assist projects that promote cooperation among stakeholders” he added. Marketing and Sales in Hospitality Business USAID/CAPS and the Armenian Hotel Association are organizing a seminar on Marketing and Sales in the Hospitality Business. Marketing and sales are two very important functions, particularly in service oriented companies, such as hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses. This seminar will highlight the role of sales and marketing in daily operations and their impact on profitability. Setting marketing plans and sales goals based on market conditions, consumer preferences, target markets and competition will be discussed. Ways to improve the bottom line will be the primary goal of each discussion session. Role of basic principles of marketing and sales will be shown with reference to their impact on overall costs.
The seminar will be conducted by Dr. Mahmood A. Khan, Ph.D., R.D., F.M. P., a Professor at the Department of Hospitality & Tourism Management at Virginia Tech / Virginia State University. Dr. Khan has been involved in administration, teaching, and research in the area of hospitality and tourism management for the past 30 years. He has also conducted developing/reviewing/evaluating curricula in hospitality and tourism programs in Malaysia, Australia, India, Korea, Taiwan, and USA. Virginia Tech has one of the finest hospitality and tourism management programs in the USA and has established a reputation worldwide for being among the top institutions offering bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs therein. The seminar, which is designed to be of benefit to marketing managers and sales personnel, will be conducted in English with consecutive translation into Armenian. It will take place at 10 am to 3 pm on April 28-29, 2009 at the Golden Tulip Yerevan Hotel. Those who wish to take part should register by Monday, April 20, by contacting Taguhi Sahakyan at CAPS office at the following phone number: 500 612 or 500 613. Up to two representatives per company can register for the training. The cost is 5000 AMD for the two days of the training. Those who complete the full course will receive a certificate of participation. “PROFESSIONAL GUIDES' SKILLS" TRAININGThe Armenian Guides Guild in association with the World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations (WFTGA) invite you to participate in a hands on training for ”Professional Guides Skills” to be held from April 8 – 15, 2009. The training is organized with support from the USAID-funded CAPS Project. The participation fee is 16,500 AMD. Participants will be required to pass an examination and will receive WFTGA certificates upon accomplishment. The best guides will have the opportunity to join AGG and will be included in the AGG employment database. To confirm your participation, please contact AGG by April 6, 2009 by calling 010 565977, 010 541605, 010 422036, 093 565352 or by visiting us at 38 Pushkin Str. 2nd floor.
Tourism Classes from George Washington University The renowned American George Washington University, in close collaboration with the USAID-funded “Competitive Armenian Private Sector Project” (CAPS) and the American University of Armenia are conducting, for the first time in Armenia, the “Tourism Destination Management Certificate Program”. The program is aimed at providing key information for destination managers to better equip them to face the challenges in today’s tourism environment. Talking at the official opening of the program, Hayley Alexander, CAPS Chief of Party highlighted the importance of the partnership now being forged between the George Washington University and the American University of Armenia. “The point of this program is of course to provide world class training to tourism professionals. But it is more than that. Just as importantly, it is also building capacity in an Armenian institution that will result in several AUA lecturers receiving a license to conduct three new courses on a regular basis.” During his comments, Mekhak Apresyan, Head of the Tourism Department of the RA Ministry of Economy attached importance to this exciting initiative undertaken by CAPS and expressed readiness on the part of the Ministry to further support such programs. The six-day course, which commenced on March 17, 2009 at the premises of American University of Armenia, is taught by George Washington University lecturers who have considerable experience in hospitality, tourism, leisure, and brand development consultancy. Among the 120 individuals that applied for the course, 40 were chosen to participate. Participants will receive a certificate upon completion of the course, issued by George Washington University. “George Washington University has one of the world’s oldest and most respected tourism programs. We have worked for nearly a year towards establishing a partnership with them.” Anush Shahverdyan, CAPS Workforce Specialist says. “I believe the representatives of the Armenian tourism and hospitality industry will greatly benefit from studying and adopting international best practice in their field of activity.” The program is designed for tourism destination managers, representatives of tour/travel companies, hotels, sites/attractions, public sector representatives and lecturers who are teaching tourism and hospitality management courses. “Through different projects and now though CAPS, USAID’s largest tourism project, USAID has provided assistance to foster tourism development in Armenia. By providing training from one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the world, CAPS tackles important tourism and workforce development issues that are critical to Armenia’s development.” Diana Avetyan, Cognizant Technical Officer of Economic Growth Office at USAID Armenia, said at the official opening of the training. Press Highlights GMP TRAINING AND TRAINING OF TRAINERS COURSESCAPS plans to organize GMP Training and Training of Trainers Courses in May-June 2009, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and various Cluster organizations and institutions. The training will be conducted by CAPS qualified and experienced international pharmaceutical consultants. All interested organizations and companies are requested to select suitable candidate(s), fill in the attached CV template and submit to the following email address: ashahverdyan@caps.am by April 10, 2009. Training is proposed for 30 participants. More details… GMP Training and Training of Trainers Courses Curriculum Vitae Form WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVES FOR INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING COMPANIES February 24, 2009 marked the completion of a multiphase engineering training course for the engineers of Cambric Corporation’s Armenian branch recently established through CAPS support. Over the past seven months, thirty engineers have participated in a CAPS sponsored program that offers special incentives to international companies to establish new production and service facilities in Armenia by providing cost-sharing for workforce development initiatives.
This training program, which is being conducted in partnership with the Cambric Corporation, a US-based engineering services firm, provides an excellent model for providing the kinds of practical technical and management training that local engineers need to be able to supply engineering design services to international clients. Under cost-sharing arrangements with CAPS, Cambric Corporation provided 5 US and regional specialists to conduct total 72 days training programs in advanced CAD/CAM software applications, project management for engineering services, and procedures for delivering client-specific support. Participants who successfully complete this training are eligible for full-time jobs with the Cambric Services Armenia Company, which is currently being established in Yerevan by the Cambric Corporation as part of its network of international service centers. This training initiative is being implemented in the framework of CAPS program for supporting the development of the engineering services cluster in Armenia. One of the priorities for the current CAPS action plan is to attract more international investments into this sector and promote business partnerships with local companies. At present, one of the primary competitive advantages that Armenia possesses is the quality of its technical workforce. Consequently, it is important to maximize the attractiveness and competitiveness of this set of resources by supporting efforts to upgrade skills and provide training that is closely aligned to international market requirements. As Sona Tadevosyan CAPS Engineering Cluster Coordinator has noted, “Countries around the world commonly offer a variety of financial and policy incentives to attract foreign investors. The government of Armenia, too, has started to make steps in this direction and this is encouraging. To share costs incurred by international investors to hire and train high-tech workers for new business operations CAPS offers a useful means of attracting new investments, as well as addressing critical manpower development needs. It combines investment promotion with workforce development and offers a practical means of creating new high-tech jobs.” Tourism Destination Management Certificate Program On March 17-24 CAPS, George Washington University and AUA Extension Program will launch the first-ever Tourism Destination Management Certificate course in Armenia. The program is aimed at providing key information for destination managers to better equip them to face the challenges in today’s tourism environment. The program is designed for tourism destination managers, representatives of tour/travel companies, hotels, sites/attractions and lecturers who are teaching tourism and hospitality management courses. More details... | 
