Strengthening social partnership in vocational education sector

A two-day Conference was held on the topic of strengthening social partnership in Georgia. The Conference was opened by First Deputy Minister Ketevan Natriashvili. Irakli Petriashvili, Head of Georgian Trade Unions, Oliver Reisner, Representative of the EU in Georgia and other Georgian and foreign experts were among the presenters.

The following topics were discussed as part of a social dialogue:

• Obstacles to social dialogue, identification of problems and ways of solving them;
• Plan for improving social partnership in Georgia;
• Partnership between the vocational education and the business sector on regional and local levels;
• Models of social partnership and approaches in other countries;
• Partnership models between educational sector and the business.

A statute and a guideline drafts were elaborated by the participants. Importance of active involvement of social partners in vocational education system in order to bring the system closer to the labor market demands was emphasized at the conference. Providing information to Trade Unions, employers, various associations and stakeholders and their recommendations will be important to achieve the abovementioned goal.  Bringing closer vocational qualification framework to labor market demands will enable economic development of the country. Development of social dialogue will have a positive reflection  on employment possibilities of the citizens.