First Steps of School Students in Vocational Education
On December 30, 2019, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, Mrs. Tamar Kitiashvili visited Tbilisi Public School No. 210, which hosted the summary event of the certificate courses of College "Ikaros" for Tbilisi Public Schools No. 210 and No. 153.
Prior to the event, the Deputy Minister got acquainted with the progress of the professional skills development certificate courses and spoke with 10th-12th grade students from both schools, who are acquiring professions in culinary arts, confectionery, and services directly within the school building.
College "Ikaros" has been involved in the professional skills development program since its launch and has accumulated significant experience. The college offers public schools both orientation (for 8th-9th grade students) and certificate courses (for 10th-12th grade students) in professional skills development. Prior to 2019, the college initiated 65 orientation courses in culinary arts, confectionery, and service-serving across 37 public schools. Among them, 15 public schools are located in various regions of Georgia, due to which college teachers travel daily to different parts of Georgia to deliver vocational education to students.
The college also implements orientation courses on its own premises, where students from neighboring public schools have the opportunity to get acquainted with and study various professions. In addition, College "Ikaros" implements certificate courses for 10th-12th grade students, including in two Tbilisi public schools - No. 210 and No. 153.
Within the framework of the program, the college encourages the involvement of successful graduates with teacher status, which is a significant motivator both for the graduates and for the vocational education community. It is noteworthy that the development of vocational education implies the influx of young personnel into the field, which is successfully underway within the framework of the WSD program.
The summary event of the college's operations in the program in 2019 was opened by the Deputy Minister, who in her welcoming speech focused significantly on the need to develop vocational education centers in such districts of Tbilisi as Village Dighomi and Ponichala settlement. According to Tamar Kitiashvili, although a number of colleges operate in the capital, educational services are not thoroughly accessible to students and young people living in the outskirts of the city. It is precisely this reason that formed the basis for selecting public schools No. 210 and No. 153 for the implementation of certificate courses.
In her welcoming speech, Tamar Kitiashvili spoke about the importance of the program for students in the process of choosing a profession, but added that the goal of the program is not only to popularize vocational education and assist students in the process of choosing a profession, but the program also helps students discover themselves and realize their potential, which has a positive impact on their personal development.
In her welcoming speech, the head of College "Ikaros", Rusudan Chartolani, spoke about the effective impacts of the program in terms of popularizing vocational education and noted that after the college's involvement in the program, applications from schools to the college have increased. In particular, the proportion of young people who decided to continue their studies at the college after discovering themselves through the program is especially high.
The directors of the public schools involved in the program also spoke about the importance of the program in terms of diversifying school life. In her welcoming speech, the director of Tbilisi Public School No. 153 spoke about the importance of this initiative for Azerbaijani-speaking students. Natia Peikrishvili noted that for students of public schools comprised of ethnic minorities, it is particularly important to launch such initiatives in the direction of non-formal education, which helps students realize themselves and integrate into society.
At the end of the event, Tamar Kitiashvili presented certificates to the graduates of the certificate program of Public Schools No. 210 and No. 153 and congratulated them on taking their first serious step on the path of professional development.
