President Aliyev attends opening of Lankaran State Vocational Education Centre PHOTO

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony of the Lankaran State Vocational Education Centre on February 25.

Minister of Science and Education Emin Amrullayev briefed the president on the facilities available at the centre, Caliber.Az reports, citing the presidential website.

The centre’s foundation was laid in 1969 as the Lankaran Technical Vocational School. In 2018, the Lerik Vocational School and Lankaran Vocational Lyceum were merged to form the current centre, which has operated as a public legal entity since 2024.

Equipped with modern infrastructure, the centre features academic, sports, and residential buildings, a training-guest house, laboratories, and workshops. It also includes computer labs, modern classrooms, a military training room, a library, a 300-seat assembly hall, and a cafeteria. A 53-bed dormitory was built on site, and after reconstruction, the number of buildings was increased to seven.

In the 2025/2026 academic year, the centre is training 962 students across 42 specialities in 55 groups, including 385 women. Programs cover fields such as tourism, agriculture, industry, IT, and alternative energy.

With the creation of a modern material and technical infrastructure, the Centre now offers a wide range of contemporary specialities, including maintenance and repair of electric and hybrid vehicles, computer networks and network administration, technical operation of programmable industrial equipment, cybersecurity, computer programming, construction and operation of buildings, as well as installation and repair of electrical lines and solar panels.

Students can pursue education at the levels of initial vocational, technical vocational, and higher technical vocational training. At present, the Centre employs 138 staff members.

The Lankaran State Vocational Education Centre maintains close collaboration with nearly 30 public and private institutions for workforce development. This partnership encompasses joint training programs with private companies, engagement of industry experts in teaching, hands-on production training, masterclasses, and the execution of social and innovative projects.