Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre el desarrollo de los recursos humanos, 1975 (núm. 142) - Georgia (Ratificación : 1993)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of education and training policies and programmes. The Government indicates that the modernization of the vocational education and training (VET) system and ensuring its flexibility and inclusiveness was made possible with the adoption, in 2018, of the Law on Vocational Education. The Law aims at, inter alia, improving the quality and flexibility of the vocational education system, and seeking to better link general education, VET and higher education. The Law on Vocational Education also enables the recognition of learning outcomes achieved within non-formal and informal education pathways. The purpose of recognizing non-formal education is to validate learning outcomes of a person achieved outside of formal education to promote lifelong learning, personal development, continuing education and skills development. For quality assurance, the National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement provides support and certification to those responsible for recognizing non-formal education. As of December 2022, the right to recognize non-formal education had been acquired by eight educational institutions. The number of VET students with active status in the Education Management Information System increased from 30,278 (14,741 men and 15,537 women) in 2021 to 35,297 (17,818 men and 17,479 women) in 2022. Moreover, according to a study conducted in 2022, the employment rate of vocational education graduates was measured at 74 per cent. Taking note of this information, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on any improvements made to the vocational education and training system, including information on the impact of the measures taken in this regard. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information, including updated statistical data disaggregated by age and sex, on the impact of the implementation of various policies and programmes on vocational education and training. More generally, the Committee refers to its comments on the application of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), and requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it is ensured that education and training policies and programmes are coordinated with the national employment policy objectives.

Article 1(5). Equal opportunities. The Government indicates that one of the priorities of the reform of the technical vocational education and training system is to ensure universal access to VET. In 2021, a unified rule of enrolment in educational institutions was introduced in the vocational education system, according to which it became possible to enrol VET students with common enrolment procedures in both public and private institutions. In 2021–22, the regulation of providing inclusive vocational education was developed, with the goal of ensuring the involvement of persons with disabilities and special educational needs in VET. The report also supplies information on the number of enrolled persons with disabilities and special educational needs by age and enrolment year. In this respect, a total of 892 persons with disabilities were enrolled in VET during the 2019–22 period (162 men and 103 women in 2022). Furthermore, the Government reports that the VET system reform also aims at gender-mainstreaming its regulations and respective policy areas. As from 2017, the gender distribution of VET students was close to being equal, and in 2021 the share of female students reached 50 per cent. With the support of the Asian Development Bank, the Gender Action Plan was elaborated by the Skills Agency in 2022 to formulate gender-inclusive procedures, rules, and modules in VET. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information, including statistics disaggregated by age and sex, on the number of persons benefiting from the measures implemented to assist persons with disabilities to develop and use their technical and vocational skills. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on measures taken to ensure the participation of women in vocational educational and training in different sectors of the economy, including an indication of the number of beneficiaries, the content and types of vocational training provided, an evaluation of the impact in terms of jobs occupied by women prior to, and following, their education and their participation in various training programmes.

Article 3. Information on vocational guidance and further vocational training. The Government indicates that, within the framework of the European Union’s Technical Assistance Programme, a strategy for the development of a professional guidance, counselling and career planning system at all levels of formal education has been developed. It adds that the strategy aims to ensure the implementation of an inclusive career guidance policy in the field of formal education for young people and adults. The Work Skills Development Programme is one of the most effective tools of the career guidance service that has had a significant impact on the promotion of vocational education among young people, as well as fostering collaboration between general education institutions and VET institutions. The programme, which benefitted approximately 22,000 students since 2017, equipped schools and raised awareness about the VET sector for both students and their parents. Moreover, the Government reports that every public vocational educational institution has a professional orientation and career guidance manager staff unit. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that comprehensive information and the broadest possible guidance is available to all children, young persons and adults. It also requests updated information on the Work Skills Development Programme’s implementation.

Article 4. Extending the system of vocational training. The Committee notes that one of the priorities of the technical vocational education and training system reform is to ensure universal accessibility to VET, including by making VET accessible in all municipalities by 2027. During the 2019–22 period, nine new colleges or branches of existing colleges were established in new locations, and several new colleges were under construction. Public schools have also been strengthened to deliver vocational educational programmes, with work beginning in 30 public schools in 2022 and 30 additional schools to be added as of 2023. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on measures taken to extend, in all municipalities of Georgia, a coordinated system of vocational training adapted to the changing requirements of individuals throughout their lives, as well as to the needs of the economy and of the different economic sectors.

Article 5. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Government indicates that increasing private sector involvement in the VET system is of utmost importance. In this regard, the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Education and Science jointly established the Skills Agency in 2021 to ensure the involvement of sectoral organizations in the vocational education system. By the end of 2022, nine sectoral skills organization start-ups were created in various sectors, including tourism, information and communication technologies, energy, agriculture, health, and construction and engineering. The Government recalls that, since 2016, Georgia has been piloting dual education and work-based learning programmes. By engaging in work-based learning, businesses and colleges will equip VET students with skills adapted to the needs of business. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide examples of the manner in which the cooperation of employers’ and workers’ organizations and, where applicable, other interested bodies is ensured in the formulation and implementation of vocational guidance and vocational training policies and programmes.