The Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Giorgi Amilakhvari opened the "Skills Week 2023".

The minister addressed the audience and focused on the importance of public and private partnership in terms of vocational education and human capital development. 

Giorgi Amilakhvari: "Vocational education is one of the important sectors in the development of our economy. Today we launched Skills Week – an important annual event where we discuss the challenges and opportunities in the field, discuss the development and accessibility of the field. 

The main task that we have in vocational education today is to bring vocational education even closer to the private sector, the employer, and to offer them much more effective mechanisms to involve in the development process of the field. It is for this purpose that the Skills Agency was founded, whose main function is to respond to the demands of the Georgian labour market in active cooperation with the private sector. 

Our task is to increase access to vocational education throughout the country and train qualified personnel. In this regard, we are actively working together with our Western partners. I would like to thank each of them for their important contribution to the development of professional education. 

Vocational education is the direct and shortest way to employment, and that is why our main priority is to take care of the development of this field.

European Union Ambassador to Georgia - Pavel Herczynski and US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan addressed the audience at the opening event of the Skills Week. 

“The importance of skills and education for sustainable economic development is extremely critical. Our goal is to help thousands of Georgians develop new skills, as well as create or find long-term employment opportunities. We fully support the Government's ambition to push forward education reform in a true European spirit. This week, we will have the opportunity to hear the successes achieved within the framework of the "Education for Employment" program, not only in Tbilisi, but also in the regions, which are implemented by the projects financed by the European Union" - stated Pavel Herczynski. 

Kelly Degnan: “We are delighted to be joining the Education Minister, my EU counterpart and other partners today to launch Skills Week. As you know, the United States of America has been supporting Georgia's education system for a long time, including vocational education, which is very important for the workforce to acquire the necessary skills, to be employed in high-paying jobs and to achieve career development. 

Member of the Education and Science Committee of the Parliament of Georgia - Mariam Lashkhi, President of the Georgian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Giorgi Pertaia and General Director of the Vocational Skills Agency, Tamar Kitiashvili also attended the event. 

More than a thousand participants will attend the events planned within the framework of the Skills Week. Among them, international and local experts, representatives of state agencies, international organizations, civil sector, vocational educational institutions, as well as business organizations and sector unions and other interested individuals.

The Skills Week in Georgia is organized by the Vocational Skills Agency and supported by partner international organizations and is held on April 24-30, and its main goal is to unite interested parties around vocational education and discuss future directions of development. 

Skills Week showcases international best practices in vocational education, as well as successful experiences at the national level, and shows how important the skills development system is in responding to the country's economic and social challenges. 

Supporters of the Skills Week are the Representation of the European Union in Georgia and the Skills4Jobs program, as well as partner international organizations: the USAID program "Employers for Vocational Education", the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), project "Modernization of the Vocational Education System in Agriculture", the European Union (EU) project " Better lifelong learning opportunities through local partnerships' and the Norwegian government project 'LEAD: Leadership, Equality, Advocacy and Democracy', implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). 

In addition to the events planned in Tbilisi, regional events are also planned within the week.