Tamar Kitiashvili, Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of Georgia together with Maia Khajishvili, Minister of Education, Culture and Sport of Ajara Autonomous Republic, visited Shuakhevi, where they visited the construction process of the Black Sea Vocational college.

The responsibility for the construction of the college by the local government can be measured as a best practice indeed, as the municipality and city council have not only taken care of allocating a separate building for the college, but have invested considerable effort and resources in the full renovation of the building as well. Currently, construction is in its final stage, after which the building will be transferred to Black Sea vocational college.

Along with the construction work, Black Sea College is already working to identify the vocations needed in the region as well as train personnel in human resource management. With the support of UNDP, within the framework of ENPARD 3 project, the College is already working on the selection and training of vocational teachers for electricity, welding, hospitality management & services, water supply and sewage installation. It is noteworthy, the college is focused on recruiting and training local staff during this process.

In addition to getting acquainted with the branch construction, the Deputy Minister held a working meeting with representatives of the City Hall, City Council, Resource Center and College personnel to discuss the future prospects of the branch development and the needs of the municipality as a whole. During the conversation Tamar Kitiashvili expressed her gratitude the local self-government for the important initiative and noted that the Ministry is always ready to support similar initiatives of the municipalities and to contribute to their development.

Furthermore, during the meeting, the parties expressed the hope that the opening of this Black Sea vocational college branch, will have a positive impact on stopping the migration, employment and assist develop the competency of the population. Moreover, the representatives of the local municipality expressed their readiness to provide students with accommodation during the early stages, and in case of high attendance at the college, they would also consider building the dormitories.