Events of the European Training Foundation under the DARYA Project and the SCAFFOLD Methodology Held in Ashgabat

From 3 to 11 June 2026, a working visit of the delegation of the European Training Foundation (ETF) took place in Ashgabat. The activities were held within the framework of the regional project “Dialogue and Action for Resourceful Youth in Central Asia” (DARYA), funded by the European Union, and were officially coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. The project is part of the European Global Gateway initiative and is aimed at skills development in priority sectors of the economy.

The delegation included Katarina Lukacowa, ETF Country Coordinator for Turkmenistan; Kristina Hemşemeýer, Senior Human Capital Development Expert; Samuel Kawana, Project Manager; Natia Gorgadze, expert on the SCAFFOLD methodology; and Gulshirin Annadurdieva, DARYA National Facilitator.

The programme of the visit included two separate areas of work.

Mission under the DARYA Project

The first mission was dedicated to institutional cooperation, discussion of the 2026 work plan, as well as research and mapping of emerging skills needs, with a particular focus on the energy, transport and digital sectors.

A key objective of the mission was the preliminary preparation for holding the 5th meeting of the DARYA High-Level Group in Ashgabat, scheduled for 13–14 October 2026. This will be the first regional event of such scale to be held in Turkmenistan under this project.

As part of the visit, the delegation held working meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan, the Ministry of Energy of Turkmenistan, as well as with representatives of the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Culture of Turkmenistan and relevant ministries in the fields of transport and communications, including construction and architecture, railway transport, road transport and communications.

In order to discuss the practical needs of the labour market, meetings were also held with the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan, as well as with businesses operating in the fields of energy, transport and digitalisation. Visits also took place to higher and vocational education institutions specialising in these sectors.

Mission on the SCAFFOLD Methodology

The second area of the visit had a practical focus and was dedicated to the professional development of teaching staff. The training seminars were held from 8 to 11 June 2026 at the Turkmen Institute of Telecommunications and Informatics under the coordination of the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan.

During the sessions, representatives of the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan and teachers of subordinate educational institutions studied the SCAFFOLD methodology — a modern tool for organising team-based and practice-oriented learning, providing step-by-step support to learners and developing their independence.

The June sessions became a continuation of the successful implementation of this methodology in the country. Owing to the leadership of the Ministry of Education, which organised two large-scale sessions in November 2025, by May 2026 Turkmenistan had trained 70–80 certified DARYA trainers in the SCAFFOLD methodology, while 23 pilot organisations had begun actively implementing and disseminating this experience. The current seminars were aimed at ensuring the sustainable implementation of the SCAFFOLD methodology at the national level.

The visit laid a solid foundation for future international investment in Turkmenistan’s human capital under the Global Gateway framework. The joint work of ETF, the Ministry of Education and the State Statistics Committee of Turkmenistan on mapping education providers, as well as preparations for the October meeting of the High-Level Group, will contribute to modernizing approaches to learning and ensuring an effective transition of Turkmen youth from education to employment in the most in-demand sectors of the economy.

Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan