OREANDA-NEWS. July 09, 2013. A centre of active technical training placed in the Straseni town, central Moldova, will annually train over 1,000 qualified workers and about 100 operational managers for resident industrial companies of the Free Economic Zone (FEZ) from Balti, Moldova’s second largest city, as well as for other companies willing to participate in the new training system.

The centre is to be created following an initiative by the Economics Ministry, in partnership with the Technical University of Ilmenau and the Eisenbach Vocational Academy from Germany, with the participation of the Balti FEZ administration and its resident companies, according to Economic Ministry’s (ME) information and media communication service.

At a today’s meeting with representatives of the two German institutions, Deputy Prime Minister, Economics Minister Valeriu Lazar said the training of specialists for the professions that are demanded on the labour market was a quite topical issue, especially given industrial investors’ increased interest to delocalize production in Moldova.

“The Straseni-based training centre will be a pilot project and we want to extend it in other regions of the country as well. At the same time, it is likely to be a prototype for the reform of the entire system of vocational education from Moldova, initiated by the Economics Ministry and the Education one,” Valeriu Lazar stressed. He also said the ME would fully involve in the creation of the training centre by providing information, juridical and administrative support.

Lazar said the active technical training centre (CITA) would improve the education and training of young people and workers and would administratively unburden enterprises from employees’ training services.

Balti FEZ manager Marin Ciobanu said the training centre would also have a hostel with 25 places. A joint commission made up of lecturers from the Moldovan Technical University, representatives of the administration of the companies residing in the concerned Zone and Education Ministry specialists will carry out the assessment and certification procedures of the “Balti" FEZ CITA graduates.