EU and Government of Georgia launch new 150 M GEL vocational education programme

Special event was held at Gldani Vocational Education and Training Centre on October 29. During the event, Mikheil Batiashvili, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport along with H.E. Carl Hartzell, EU Ambassador to Georgia and Cesare Onestini, European Training Foundation (ETF) Director, launched the second phase of the Skills4Jobs programme in Georgia.

The new five-year programme has a total budget of EUR 48.85 million (approx. GEL 156 million) will focus on ensuring that relevant skills matching services and education opportunities in vocational education and training and entrepreneurship are available throughout Georgia, including for youth, women and vulnerable populations.

As the EU Ambassador, H.E. Hartzell noted, “employment is a key concern for people everywhere. One prerequisite is ensuring that job seekers have the skills the market needs, and can find the available jobs. With the first Skills4Jobs programme the EU assisted the Government to train over 750 teachers and offer over 100 modern, relevant, vocation education courses.”

According to him, with this new programme EU plans to take these successes and make them more accessible in the regions and among youth, women and vulnerable groups.

Cesare Onestini, ETF Director noted that "Skills development is at the heart of the ETF work in Georgia. Young people and citizens throughout the country will benefit from current reforms through better education and training opportunities, providing access to high quality jobs. "

The programme will be implemented through a package of support measures, which include a EUR 30 million (approx. GEL 95 million) sector reform performance contract with the Government which provides direct annual funding in exchange for results, two EU Twinning projects which will bring EU country civil servants to Georgia to help introduce reforms, and private sector technical assistance projects to support Government ministries.

In addition, dedicated grants with a value of EUR 7 million (approx. GEL 22 million) will be allocated to private or public sector or civil society organizations to further enhance employment opportunities in the regions.

The programme builds on the achievements of the first phase of Skills4Jobs programme which ran from 2013-2018 with a total budget of EUR 27 million (approx. GEL 80 million). In total, an estimated 30,000 jobseekers have found employment through these measures. The second phase of the programme aims to extend these achievements further into the regions of Georgia.

The programme announcement was followed by a high level panel discussing the challenges and perspectives labour market matching in Georgia.