Real Estate Company m² Opens Civil Engineering College in Tbilisi
Construct² is a new civil engineering college founded by Georgian development giant m² Real Estate in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport. A ceremony to inaugurate the college was held on Sunday, attended by representatives of m², BK Construction, local self-government, media outlets and government officials including Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Genadi Arveladze. BK Construction became a subsidiary of m² in 2017, with a focus on civil engineering management.
Construct² aims to educate professionals who want careers in construction and to nurture the overall development of the construction field by increasing the skilled labor pool. The budget for the project is 3 million GEL ($1,125,703).
The college will offer 11 short-term vocational programs, including in the subjects of labor safety and environmentally friendly technology, serving up to 600 students per term. Upon successful completion of a vocational program, students will be awarded the title of certified specialist. The courses are accredited by the Georgian authorities. The college will also create jobs, employing 50 academics and 300 full-time administrators. The first students will matriculate to Construct² in 2019.
m² CEO Irakli Burdiladze explained that the college is a corporate social responsibility project of m² Real Estate, “aimed at developing the construction sector through education and employment of the local population. The college will enable young people to direct their potential in the right direction and become professionals. We will do our best,” promised Burdiladze, “to ensure that our students receive top-standard theoretical knowledge and practical experience and become a high-quality workforce on the labor market. We believe that soon the college will become an international-level vocational educational center and stimulate students interested in the [real estate] development sector. Burdiladze also called the project “timely and necessary” for Georgia.
Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze showed his support for the project by visiting the construction site when work was in its final stages earlier this month.
m² has several large residential complexes in Tbilisi and is currently developing two large hotels – Ramada Kutaisi and, in Telavi, the restoration of Soviet-era former Intourist hotel. The Kutaisi project is under a franchise agreement with Wyndham Hotel Group. Wyndham Hotel Group operates the largest network of hotels in the world. In Telavi, the project aims to revive the historical and functional aspects of the hotel while blending it with Telavi’s existing architectural style. Developing skilled labor for projects such as these is one of the goals of Construct².
By Samantha Guthrie
Image source: m² Real Estate