Guria and Adjara have been joined by 30 certified vocational education teachers
A graduation ceremony for 30 vocational education teachers specializing in tea cultivation and veterinary medicine was held in Ozurgeti and Khulo. This first cohort of graduates participated in the pilot vocational education training and retraining program, which has been implemented in the vocational colleges of Guria and the Autonomous Republic of Adjara since September 2019 with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Switzerland.
Tamar Kitiashvili, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia, attended the graduation ceremony alongside Louisa Vinton, Head of the United Nations Development Programme, and representatives of central and local authorities. The Deputy Minister addressed the participants of the event, stating that the training and retraining programs are a new government initiative that serves as the best means to meet labor market demands in a short period of time.
Within the framework of the project, 21 employees from 16 tea-processing enterprises operating in the Guria region were retrained in tea production technologies. They gained experience in the cultivation and maintenance of tea raw materials, modern tea production technologies, tea tasting, and the economic fundamentals of tea production. The educational program was conducted with the participation of highly qualified local trainers. Alongside theoretical instruction, practical training sessions were held.
Currently, the Ozurgeti College "Horizon" and the College "New Wave" in Khulo, with government funding, will train personnel in high-demand professions that rural private businesses need to realize the potential of local agriculture.
The pilot projects implemented in cooperation with colleges are part of a large-scale joint VET program by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Switzerland, which will continue until 2022 in close collaboration with the Government of Georgia, the Georgian Farmers' Association, vocational colleges, public and private farmers' advisory centers, universities, and rural communities. Within the framework of the program, 12,000 rural residents have already been provided with training and advisory services.
