A 20-year-old saleswoman with 10-year-old experience is required

“Requirements of employers reach to the absurd”, – the employee of the agency on employment considers.
“I could not imagine, that our people have reached such condition, – the employee of the agency on the employment, working only two months, Angela Kirakosyan says, – I am surprised, to be exact I am angry, that people who have received higher education, have a long-term work experience and life experience, today have to work as cleaners and dishwashers because they are not taken for other work.”
Angela Kirakosyan – the teacher with 23-year-old work experience, for some reasons has left school several years ago and now works in the agency on employment as an agent-intermediary. Sometimes she receives such inquiries from employers, which are simply surprising. “For example, to one employer the girl with pleasant appearance, higher education, knowledge of foreign languages, is required for work in the shop of building materials. The salary is about 80.000 dram, working hours – 9:30-19:00 and only one day off during a week, -she says, – do you imagine, this young girl must work all day long and only one day has a rest. Just God knows what illnesses she can get. And besides, will a person with such facilities agree to work in such conditions? Anyway we have not found a candidate for this employer yet.”

Agencies
The agency where Mrs. Angela works, concludes the contract with those who searches for work, and they pay for it to the agency 3000 dram and if they manage to find a job for the client he pays to the agency 30 % from the first salary. There are agencies which take from the client money only in that case when they provide him with work. There are also such agencies which purpose is not finding job for clients, but to get money from them. Frequently people pay to agency certain money and wait for a call. The call does not occur, and after a while it appears, that such agency does not exist. It is a fact that there is no a legislation regulating activity of agencies on employment.
“It is very difficult to carry out a role of the intermediary between the employer and a man searching for job, – the director of the agency “Eduardo” says, – as in case of any problem between them, both parties accuse agency. In many cases we in the presence of the client call to the employer, we agree about preliminary interview. The client leaves and comes back annoyed: it appears that he was told, that vacancy is already occupied. We again in the presence of the client call to the employer to find out what a problem. He explains, that he has answered in such a way because the given expert does not correspond to him.”

Demand
Analyzing facts of agencies on employment, it becomes clear, that today on a labour market office workers (clerks, telephonists, operators, assistants to directors and so forth), workers of sphere of service (waiters, sellers, hairdressers and so forth), and also workers of trade (agents on market development, experts in marketing and so forth) are most required.
The director of the agency for employment “Work for all” Anahit Kizogyan mentions, that demand for programmers and computer designers has essentially decreased today, the quantity of demands from private medical clinics, private kindergartens, colleges and schools has decreased also.

Age
In the known song it is said – “my year – my riches”, however our unemployed have to think that the reason of their poverty is in their lived years as according to agencies on employment on a today’s labour market the biggest problem is not small number of vacancies, the problem is the age of people searching for job.
Angela Kirakosyan regretfully mentions, as for men and for women after 40 it is more difficult to find work: “A 55- year-old man having three higher educations with whose name even a star is named, is ready today for any work, however cannot find it. We even did not take from him money for the contract conclusion, respecting his age, knowledge and experience.”

What are workers demanded for and what are offered
“Young men for work as the operator in Internet club are required. Working hours are 10:00-22:00, the salary – 1000 dram for a day.” The notebook of Mrs. Angela is full of such demands of employers.
Almost all agencies mark the high requirements shown to workers and low payment. “Requirements of employers reach to the absurd, – Angela Kirakosyan says, – even there is a such joke – 20-year-old workers with 10-year-old experience are required”.
According to the facts given by agencies, for work low and middle class basically 25-80 thousand dram (though in Armenia the minimum salary is 30.000 dram) is paid. “Increase of salaries on a labour market can be promoted by increase of the level of minimum salary, – a citizen thinks, – if, instead of 30.000 there will be 50 or 60 thousand dram.”
And what salary is considered as high? Many agencies point out, that in demands which they receive, high salaries are noted from 150thousand to 300 thousand dram. However such demands are not met often. Sometimes it is possible to meet such announcement: “the chief accountant with very high salary is required”. You call and it becomes clear, that “very high salary” is 200 thousand dram. It is funny, because made demands are not 200 thousand, and at least it is three times more.
The important problem is also a self-estimation of people searching for job and ability “expensively to sell himself”. “Everyone should highly appreciate first of all himself”, – the director of the agency for employment “Eduardo” says.
Other problem is that frequently the employer in the demand specifies one kind of requirements, and at employment – absolutely others. “It is said manager, clerk is required, – the employee of the agency on employment “Gorcq” says, – as“ the manager ”sounds better. Therefore we in details are interested, how this or that work is imagined by the employer.”

Who is most successful in work search
According to agencies, on a labour market women find work easier. According to one opinion, women overcome a stereotype of “not prestigious work” easier than men, therefore women have wider opportunities in a work choice on a labour market. According to another opinion, success of women is explained by the fact that they agree for work with the low salary easier, that the basic cargo on family maintenance in our society lays on shoulders of men, and wives only help. And the third one- “to find language” is easier with women employers.
Nevertheless today the majority of women in Armenia continue to be unemployed.
If to generalize the information, that we have received as a result of conversations with employees of agencies on employment it appears, that on a modern labour market in Armenia the most successful are persons, which abilities and knowledge can be estimated as averages or below an average: “As a result vacancy is occupied with not skilled and weak experts, and skilled will be left in the basket.”

What the official facts say
The chief of the agency “Employment Public service” Sona Arutyunyan says, that 70 % of officially registered unemployed is women: “Relative density of women in total of the unemployed in comparison with the beginning of 2009 continues to decrease, – she says, – however it is caused by the increase in quantity of the men who have received the status of the unemployed.”
According to the chief of the agency, 86 000 unemployed are registered today in Armenia. “For the reduction of this number we carry out 12 government programs today, and since 2011 their quantity will reach 15”, – he says.
What result will be given by these programs the future will show, and the discrepancy between supply and demand on a today’s labour market, high level of labour migration, the world financial crisis, which lead to the reduction of workplaces, to a low occupation level among youth and to low salaries, remain those essential problems which excite our society.
In spite of the fact that there is no lack of agencies on employment, and many of them really give the chance to hundreds people to find work, nevertheless, people continue to search for work, constantly and everywhere as everything, they have, does not satisfy neither material requirements, nor moral.