EU-Funded Initiative Drives Significant Advancements in Employment and Skills Development in Georgia

The EU-funded Skills for Jobs Programme successfully concluded its second phase with a final event in Tbilisi, showcasing its substantial contributions to enhancing employability, skills development, and economic growth throughout Georgia.

Launched in 2019 with €48.85 million in EU funding, the Skills for Jobs Programme played a pivotal role in supporting Georgia’s socio-economic development and global competitiveness. It contributed to sector reforms by enhancing institutional capacities, improving service delivery standards, and fostering inclusive and cohesive growth. Through its comprehensive approach—which included budget support, technical assistance, institutional cooperation, and a grant scheme component—the programme made a significant impact on the country’s employment landscape.

In his opening remarks, Nicholas Cendrowicz, Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Georgia, emphasized that “The EU has been supporting skills development and employment initiatives in Georgia for the past 16 years. Education, skills development, and their alignment with labour market needs are essential to reduce poverty, boost economic prosperity, and create the conditions for sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The EU’s effort not only enhances decent work opportunities but also addresses the root causes of irregular migration. The EU remains committed to allocating at least 20% of its development assistance to social inclusion and human development”.

A major highlight of the Programme was its work in skills and youth development, particularly in Georgia’s regions. The grant scheme component of the Skills for Jobs Programme successfully implemented nine projects between 2019 and 2023, with a total investment of €7 million, yielding significant positive results. These projects focused on enhancing the employability of NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) and other target groups in various regions by providing essential career guidance and skills development.

Key achievements included assisting several thousand individuals in upgrading their skills and finding employment through dedicated learning and employment centres established across the regions. Additionally, mobile youth workers and career guidance counsellors received comprehensive training, equipping them to better support job seekers. The programme also fostered stronger partnerships with private sector stakeholders, ensuring a collaborative approach to addressing the employment challenges faced by local communities. These efforts collectively contributed to improving employment prospects and enhancing the skill sets of vulnerable populations throughout Georgia.

Among the key achievements, the following figures attributed to the programme should be underlined:

• A Labour Market Information System was developed under the programme, producing a National Skills Anticipation Report used to forecast skills required by the labour market.
• The number of young people aged 15-24 enrolled in formal VET programmes increased by over 10% in Georgia’s regions compared to 2017.
• The employment rate of retrained job seekers rose by more than 50% compared to 2017.
• Employment among young people aged 15-29 with vocational education had increased by nearly 15% since 2020.
• The availability of career guidance, counselling, and labour market services significantly expanded.
• The number of VET students with special needs in public VET institutions rose by over 20% since 2017.
• The share of youth aged 15-24 not in education, employment, or training (NEETs) decreased by almost 6 percentage points compared to 2021.
• Secondary school teachers begun adopting interactive teaching methods to enhance entrepreneurship skills.

Concrete results of the programme also included:

• More than 1,700 job seekers had gained employment.
• Over 6,500 individuals had received training in core skills, entrepreneurship, and IT.
• 90 schools and 10 vocational education and training institutions had established youth coding and tech entrepreneurial clubs.
• In all eight regions it operated, the Skills for Jobs Programme has organised employment forums, training sessions, and short-term professional education courses to equip individuals with the skills needed to meet labour market demands.

The Technical Assistance component of the Skills for Jobs Programme played a key role in policy development with the creation and approval of three national strategies for Youth, Vocational Education and Training (VET), and Career Guidance. New qualifications for youth workers were developed, along with comprehensive training materials to improve service delivery in employment services, career guidance, and labour market analysis.

The programme also focused on enhancing educational resources by introducing innovative learning practices, entrepreneurship training, and promoting inclusiveness in VET. Significant improvements were made to data systems, including the development of a new electronic national qualifications register, the upgrade of the WorkNet platform, and proposals for labour market data networking to enable evidence-based policymaking.

The event was attended by experts, policymakers, civil society representatives, private sector leaders, and educational institutions, all of whom gathered to celebrate the programme’s achievements and discuss prospects for Georgia’s workforce.

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About the European Union

For more than 30 years, the European Union has built a close partnership with Georgia, supporting its development through knowledge and experience sharing, expertise, innovation and financial support. The relationship between the EU and Georgia is based on shared values of peace, freedom, democracy, human rights and inclusive economic growth. More about the EU’s support in Georgia https://eu4georgia.eu/the-european-union-in-georgia/  

About the Project

Skills for Jobs Programme, launched in 2019 aimed to improve the employability of women, men, young people and vulnerable people in regions of Georgia. The programme was implemented through a range of different measures, including EUR 30 million direct budget support, two Twinning projects, EUR 7 million grant scheme and technical assistance component. For additional information on EU’s Skills4Jobs Programme, please visit: EU4Georgia website: https://eu4georgia.eu/skills4jobs-programme/  

For additional inquiries: Tatia Khubulava, Communication Expert for TA for Skills4Georgia, tkhubulava@gmail.com