On November 6, Vice President for Europe and Central Asia (ECA) Laura Tuck, Regional Director for the South Caucasus Henry Kerali, Program Leader for the South Caucasus Rashmi Shankar, and other representatives of the World Bank Tbilisi Office visited ISET. The goal of the meeting was to discuss opportunities and challenges for job creation in Georgia with ISET faculty and Policy Institute.

Roundtable discussions involved the subjects of constraints on the labor market, and the job-worker skill mismatch, as well as lack of demand. As for the skill mismatch, sides pointed out the existence of a huge pool of unemployment and, at the same time, employers’ difficulties to find qualified employees.

According to the representatives of the World Bank, one of the reasons behind the problem is the lack of vocational and science education. The crucial importance of government support to improve the educational system together with the country’s competitiveness was also emphasized during the discussion.  

ISETers reminisced of the World Bank’s contribution to the founding of the International School of Economics at TSU and their further cooperation; being providers and supporters of high-quality education, something that is vital for the improvement of the job market in the country, both sides expressed their willingness to continue the partnership in the future.