- February 9, 2026
- Category: News
On February 6, the 5th anniversary “հայrate 2025” Awards Ceremony took place, during which the attractive employers in Armenia were honored based on the results of a comprehensive survey conducted among students.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Armenian HR Association in partnership with Grant Thornton Armenia, has been implementing the annual “հայrate” attractive employers Awards Ceremony program among students. The aim of the initiative is to study employer brand perception, trust, and preference among students in Armenia.
Over the past five years, “հայrate” initiative has become a unique platform where all stakeholders – students, universities, employers, and government bodies – have the opportunity, through dialogue and cooperation, to obtain accurate data to organize their activities more effectively and make data-driven decisions.
Students mentioned over 100 organizations as attractive employers, from which the top 10 organizations receiving the highest number of votes were recognized and awarded in “Attractive Employer” and “Most Attractive Employer” categories at the event.
Among the organizations ranked in the top positions are:
- Ameriabank
- Digitain
- Picsart
- Central Bank
- Ardshinbank
- State Revenue Committee of RA
- Synopsys
- ACBA Bank
- Service Titan
- SoftConstruct
President of the Armenian HR Association, Arpi Karapetyan, welcoming the guests, stated:
“Employer branding, with all its derivative functions – fairness in the workplace, trust in leadership, proper recruitment processes, and more – is increasingly occupying higher positions in the professional practices of the global HR community. This is evidenced by the results of the EAPM’s latest 2025 research, where employer branding ranked number 3rd among the most important HR functions. In fact, we began raising this issue in the Armenian market earlier than the global community reached this understanding.
We give high importance to this event and invest significant effort to involve more and more students, encouraging dialogue among all stakeholders. Because one of the key cornerstones of the labor market development is precisely this dialogue, through which ideas are generated and concrete actions are taken.”
Human Capital Advisory Director at Grant Thornton Armenia, Lilit Gevorgyan, noted:
“Today, when the labor market is changing rapidly, attracting young professionals and creating real growth opportunities for them has become one of the top priorities of the employers. The picture obtained through “հայrate” is honestly mirroring what students are expecting from the modern workplace.
Many students are attracted not only by competitive compensation, but also by a healthy team environment, transparent career development paths, and the opportunity to have a visible impact through their work. This research enables employers to rethink their approach to human capital by shaping an environment where young people can not only work, but also grow, take initiatives, and bring bold ideas to life. Today, I can confidently say that “հայrate” initiative continues to strengthen cooperation between students and employers, fostering a culture of conscious choice and contributing to the competitiveness of organizations.”
Founder and Visionary Leader of Skill Event Marketing, and Producer of Career City Fest, Sergey Usnunts, also welcomed the guests and stated:
“For Skill, employer branding is not a one-time communication, but a strategic direction. We see that initiatives like “հայrate” establish clear quality standards for employers in the market and strengthen professional discussions around organizational culture, trust, and the real employee experience. We thank the Armenian HR Association, Grant Thornton Armenia, and all organizations for raising the employer branding standards.”
The event gathered approximately 200 participants, including official representatives from the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture, and Sports and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, HR professionals from various industries, leaders from around 20 Armenian universities, career center directors, and students.
Participants highly appreciated the significance of this initiative, noting that “հայrate” enables Armenian employers to assess the effectiveness of their branding efforts and identify new opportunities for attracting young talent.
The importance of maintaining strong student-employer connections was reaffirmed, highlighting “հայrate” as an essential platform for fostering this communication.
The full analysis of the survey results can be found HERE
