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30.11.-0001
EU, Govt' Launch Programme Supporting Vocational Education and Labor Market
At a special event held at Gldani Vocational Education and Training Centre on October 29, Mikheil Batiashvili, the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, 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 vocation education and training and entrepreneurship are available throughout Georgia, including for youth, women and vulnerable populations. Targets for the programme include:
- At least 100,000 Georgians find jobs with the assistance of these measures;
- An increase of at least 10% in the employment rate of young people aged 15-29 with Vocational Education and Training education nationwide;
- At least 20% of job seekers in the regions who completed retraining programmes are employed within 3 months;
- Development and Publication of National Skills Anticipation Report with a 5-year outlook;
Carl Hartzell, Ambassador of the European Union, remarked, "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. We also helped establish tools like a national labor needs survey, worknet and pilot employment support centers to help make those linkages. Over 30,000 persons found work through these achievements. With this new programme we plan to take these successes and make them more accessible in the regions and among youth, women and vulnerable groups. Of course, it takes more than just a programme to make a real impact, there is also a need for strong political will and determination. We look forward to working closely with the Government over the next years to ensure better and more employment for Georgians."
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 the 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 job seekers 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, which included interventions by Director Onestini, Ambassador Hartzell, as well as Tamila Barkalaya, Deputy Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs, and representatives of Parliament of Georgia, Giorgi Vashakidze, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Mariam Jashi, Chair of the Committee on Education, Science and Culture of the Parliament, and Tamar Khulordava, Chair of the Committee on European Integration of the Parliament.
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 the 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 job seekers 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, which included interventions by Director Onestini, Ambassador Hartzell, as well as Tamila Barkalaya, Deputy Minister of Internally Displaced Persons from Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs, and representatives of Parliament of Georgia, Giorgi Vashakidze, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Mariam Jashi, Chair of the Committee on Education, Science and Culture of the Parliament, and Tamar Khulordava, Chair of the Committee on European Integration of the Parliament.
30 October 2019 10:48