Georgia cooks

Georgia should focus on increasing VET enrolment and quality of provision

Increasing participation and access to vocational education and training (VET), and improving the quality and relevance of VET provision have been identified as priorities for Georgia in the European Training Foundation’s assessment of the country’s human capital development policies. 

While Georgia has enjoyed modest economic growth in recent years, employment has lagged behind, with particular challenges in creating high-skilled jobs. The country has high levels of educational attainment and a high proportion of graduates in its workforce.  However it has very low participation in VET and suffers large skills mismatches. Transition from education to work is a major hurdle, with high youth unemployment (30%) and a large proportion of young people not in employment, education or training (27%).

Boosting participation in and access to VET and improving the quality and relevance of VET provision are identified in the ETF assessment as key to addressing these issues.

 Carried out as part of the Torino Process – a periodic appraisal of the state of development of each country’s skills development and labour market systems – the ETF assessment recommends, amongst other things, creating a level playing field between the different VET providers (state, private sector and NGOs); harmonising funding mechanisms (voucher system); facilitating access for vulnerable groups; expanding tertiary level VET; boosting career guidance; embedding key competences; incentivising business involvement; increasing opportunities work experience; and improving the status and working conditions of VET teachers. 

Published following an extensive process of data collection and consultation with a wide range of stakeholders in the country, the assessment provides an external, forward-looking analysis of Georgia’s human capital issues and vocational education and training policies from a lifelong learning perspective. It identifies challenges related to education and training policy and practices that hinder the development and use of human capital. It takes stock of these challenges and offers recommendations for possible solutions.

The ETF’s assessment of Georgia will be discussed, together with those of the other Eastern Partnership countries, at a regional event to he held online on 16 and 17 September 2020. 

These assessments are central to the Torino Process, an initiative launched by the ETF in 2010 with the aim of providing periodic reviews of VET practises in the wider context of human capital development and inclusive economic growth. In order to make a high-quality assessment of VET policy from a lifelong learning perspective, the process builds on four key principles: ownership, participation, holistic analysis, and evidence-based analysis.

As part of this process, Georgia produced its own national report, which is available on the Open Space knowledge sharing platform. 

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