Students in public schools will receive vocational education
On December 17, 2019, Tamar Kitiashvili, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, visited Sachkhere Public School No. 2, where she attended the summary event of the 5th stage of the Vocational Skills Development Program. During the visit, the Deputy Minister inspected the ongoing vocational skills development courses at the school and spoke with the students participating in the program.
Sachkhere Public School No. 2 joined the vocational skills development program at its very first stage in 2017 and, based on its achieved results, stands out clearly among the nearly 600 schools involved in the program.
Since 2017, the public school has been implementing vocational skills orientation courses, which are explicitly career-oriented and designed for 8th and 9th-grade students. Within the framework of these courses, students have the opportunity to receive thorough information about their desired profession, try their hand at various professions in a small "vocational laboratory" set up at the school, and develop basic professional skills. Through the initiative of four private and public colleges, students of Sachkhere Public School No. 2 have the opportunity to try their hand at 7 professions simultaneously: electricity, confectionery, culinary arts, woodworking and carpentry, information technology, nursing, and clothing design/sewing.
Following the school's successful operation in the program, it was granted the right to implement vocational skills certification courses designed for 10th-12th grade students. Within the framework of certification courses, students have the opportunity to take their first steps in a profession and thoroughly study the narrow aspects of the trade. At the current stage, the Ministry is working on creating a legislative framework for the recognition of non-formal education, on the basis of which students graduating from certification courses will have the opportunity to have their professional competencies acquired at school recognized. Within this program, College "Iberia" implements certification courses at Sachkhere Public School No. 2 in the fields of electricity, culinary arts, and clothing design/sewing.
In addition to the effective administration of vocational skills development courses, Sachkhere Public School No. 2 successfully fulfills the functions of a hub school, enabling 8th-12th grade students from 6 nearby public schools to benefit from all 10 orientation and certification courses conducted at the school. Considering this initiative, the school assumes not only the function of an education provider, but also that of a community center.
The summary event of the autumn semester of the program was opened by Ms. Tamar Kitiashvili. In her welcoming speech, the Deputy Minister focused particularly on increasing the accessibility of vocational education and thanked the vocational colleges attending the event, which have made special efforts and launched various vocational courses at the school within the program — "Given that there is no public vocational educational institution operating in the municipalities of Sachkhere and Chiatura, the dedication of the Kutaisi and Tbilisi colleges is especially commendable. They launched various vocational courses in local schools within the program's framework and provided young people with the opportunity to get acquainted with vocational education. I believe that the vocational skills development program plays a huge role not only in the direction of developing career guidance services and popularizing vocational education, but it is also the first large-scale initiative of cooperation between vocational and general educational institutions in the Georgian educational space, which has always been a significant challenge."
In her welcoming speech, the Deputy Minister announced that the Ministry is working on a new initiative which implies the launch of vocational educational programs based on public schools. According to the Deputy Minister, given that the Ministry's goal is, on the one hand, the targeted and efficient use of state resources and, on the other hand, the maximum involvement of qualified personnel available at the municipal level in the processes of developing and implementing educational services, the launch of vocational programs based on public schools represents a flexible and strategic way to increase the accessibility of vocational education. At the same time, it is important that all three levels of education are considered not separately, but in a unified context, since all three are part of the education system and the development of education quality is impossible without discovering the connections between them and close cooperation.
The meeting held at the school was attended by directors of public schools and representatives of resource centers participating in the program from Sachkhere and Chiatura municipalities, 8th-12th grade students participating in the program, as well as heads and vocational teachers of the colleges that implement vocational courses in the public schools of Sachkhere and Chiatura municipalities.
The significance of the program was discussed at the event by the heads of vocational colleges and local resource centers, as well as the directors of participating public schools. At the end of the event, graduates of all three vocational skills certification programs were awarded certificates for successfully completing the courses in clothing design, electricity, and culinary arts.
