Tsoghik Bezhanyan: It is quite complicated to integrate children grown up without parental care into labor environment

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 2, ARMENPRESS: The children who have reached the working age and have grown up without parental care can make use of the privileges defined by RA law. On this theme Armenpress interviewed Tsoghik Bezhanyan, head of “State Employment Service” agency of the Armenian Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.

-What privileges do the children grown up without parental care and reached working age have and which is that age?

-The working age starts from 16. The privileges are defined for this group by the 3rd point of the 20th article of the RA law on “social defense in case of employment and unemployment of the population”. Besides the common guarantees defined for non-competitive groups in the labor market, this group can also receive consultation over issues of finding job, information about vacancies and employment programs, mediation while seeking job and support in professional orientation or in case of initiating entrepreneurial activity, unemployment allowance, opportunity of participating in labor fairs and clubs. We also propose a profitable condition to employers: we pay the 50% of the salary for a year.

-Do all the graduates of children houses seek job with your help?

-I must note with pity that the representatives of this group apply to employment centers with difficulty, and while applying they do not want to be presented as representatives of a non-competitive group, refusing the guarantees defined for them. We have tried to discuss this issue with directors of children houses, applying to them in a written form, and only “Zatik” has responded. Trying to find the cause of this phenomenon, we asked the specialists of the Center for Youth Professional Orientation to work with the graduates of children houses. According to the specialists of the center, those children feel uncomfortable to say that they are alumni of a children house. Trying to start a new life, they refuse to be considered member of that group.

-How do you coordinate this sphere and follow the activity of the graduates of the children house?

-The list of the children completed 16 years is being updated every year. According to addresses, it is instructed to provide the local employment services of the RA Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs with individual work – consulting, information about vacancies. We constantly supervise and control that work.

-What kind of results have been registered?

-About 25 people belonging to this age group have received consultation in 2010; only 2 of them have been registered in the centers. The centers have registered cases when the representatives of this group refuse the proposed work or professional education classes. But as a result of psychological work in “Zarik” children house 6 people have been registered in Kanaker-Zeytun employment service, Yerevan, other two have been involved in the program on partial compensation of salary. Naturally, the results are not satisfying. It is quite complicated to integrate children grown up without parental care into labor environment.