THE ROLE OF NON-FORMAL COURSES IN THE TRAINING OF TOURISM SPECIALISTS / ՈՉ ՖՈՐՄԱԼ ԴԱՍԸՆԹԱՑՆԵՐԻ ԴԵՐԸ ԶԲՈՍԱՇՐՋՈՒԹՅԱՆ ՄԱՍՆԱԳԵՏՆԵՐԻ ՊԱՏՐԱՍՏՄԱՆ ԳՈՐԾՈՒՄ

The pace of tourism development requires specialists in the field to respond to cultural, economic, technological and a number of other changes. In this process, the proficiency level of specialists and the continuous improvement of their professional skills are important. In addition to academic education, non-formal courses also play an important role in the process of training and retraining specialists. They seem to fill the gap in academic education, forming the necessary practical skills. The article discusses the non-formal courses offered by tourism organizations of the Republic of Armenia, their content and organizational features. The importance of non-formal courses in the training and retraining of tourism specialists is justified. Along with the dynamic development of the tourism sector, non-formal education is becoming an important tool for the formation and expansion of the knowledge and skills of specialists in the sector. In the research non-formal courses are considered as not only a means of training specialists, but also a means of their retraining and improvement of professional skills.