Baku, 27 August 2026
The State Agency for Vocational Education under the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Textile Association (ATA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening human capital and industry–education cooperation across Azerbaijan’s textile and light-industry sector.
The MoU was signed by Ilgar Bayramli, Director of the State Agency for Vocational Education, and Farida Akhundova, Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Textile Association.
Representatives of GP Cotton Holdings, Prime Cotton, GiLTEX, Azersheker and Textile Horizon, representing key parts of Azerbaijan’s cotton and textile industry, participated in the signing ceremony.
The MoU reflects the parties’ intention and readiness to build a more systematic partnership between government, vocational education and industry, with a particular focus on developing local professional capacity across the cotton, yarn and textile value chain.
The agreement will be followed by a set of practical measures, including joint development of industry-oriented curricula, expansion of dual vocational education and factory-based training, participation of industry professionals in the educational process, practical placements for students, and stronger pathways from vocational education into employment.
The central objective is to provide Azerbaijani youth with stronger technical knowledge and hands-on skills relevant to modern textile production, create better employment opportunities within the domestic industry, and progressively reduce the sector’s dependence on externally sourced skilled professionals.
The MoU also gives particular importance to the Social Atelier initiative, implemented in cooperation with the Social Services Agency under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population. The project is designed to provide socially vulnerable girls including those deprived of parental care, with practical skills in sewing, tailoring and other textile professions, while connecting them to relevant vocational education and training programs. Its broader objective is to create a pathway from skills development to future employment, economic independence and social integration, demonstrating how cooperation between government, vocational education and the textile industry can generate both industrial and social impact.
The partnership between the State Agency for Vocational Education under the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Textile Association represents an important step toward creating the local workforce required for the further expansion of Azerbaijan’s textile industry and establishing a sustainable institutional link between education and industrial development.
