Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze reviewed the concept of education reform with members of the Business Association.

The PM spoke in detail about the challenges facing the education system and the objectives outlined in the reform concept. The Prime Minister of Georgia also heard the views of business representatives regarding the alignment of the education concept with labor market needs and responded to their questions.

“We want university admissions to be based on labor market analysis. We need the support of the business sector in conducting this analysis. Today we agreed that this analysis will be prepared through the joint involvement and participation of the government and the business community. Higher education reform is of special importance for business. Essentially, there are two employers in the country – the public and private sectors. Therefore, it is important for the private sector to be involved in implementing education reform.

There are shortages in many areas. In some disciplines, there is an excess of students, while in others, there is a very serious deficit. The labor market shows much higher demand – often for well-paying professions – but unfortunately, students rarely choose these fields. We want to balance this situation properly and distribute quotas across disciplines and universities in line with labor market needs,” stated Irakli Kobakhidze.

The President of the Business Association thanked the Prime Minister for his interest in the business community’s views and noted that there are professions in high demand; however, since young people are less inclined to choose them, businesses face a challenge of staff shortages. Therefore, it is crucial that the education reform be implemented in a way that meets labor market requirements.

The meeting between the Prime Minister of Georgia and representatives of the Business Association was attended by Minister of Education, Science and Youth Givi Mikanadze; Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Mariam Kvrivishvili; Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Youth Affairs NP Mariam Lashkhi; Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy MP Shota Berekashvili; and Head of Government Administration Levan Zhorzholiani.