A conference was held to support the employment of persons with disabilities
The event was attended by Ketevan Natriashvili, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, representatives of the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, state agencies determining the employment issues of persons with disabilities — representatives of the Ministries of Economy, Finance, and Regional Development — as well as non-governmental organizations and other invited guests.
Specifically, within the framework of the conference, the following will be implemented:
- Sharing the experience of European (Norwegian) organizations with experience in employing persons with disabilities with local employers;
- Presentation of the positive aspects and challenges of employing persons with disabilities by Norwegian employers;
- Sharing the perspectives, experiences, and challenges (and ways to solve them) of the employees with disabilities themselves (Norway's experience);
- Views of persons with disabilities themselves regarding their employment opportunities in the open labor market;
- Analysis of the situation regarding the employment of persons with disabilities and special educational needs by the Public Defender's Office;
- Sharing the experience and challenges of employing persons with disabilities in the Georgian reality by Georgian employers;
- Sharing the vision of government agency representatives on the possibility of ensuring a state system for the employment of persons with disabilities;
- Sharing the vision of non-governmental organizations regarding the creation of a state system for the employment of persons with disabilities in Georgia;
- Sharing the experience of a locally employed person with disabilities and their employer.
With the methodological and financial support of the Ministry of Education and Research of Norway, the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia has been introducing inclusive education into the vocational education system since 2013. For the 2013–2014 academic year, 203 persons with disabilities and special educational needs were given the opportunity to obtain education across 17 vocational institutions. The main goal of inclusive education is to equip persons with special educational needs and disabilities with the skills necessary for employment.
