Tbilisi: The Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, Mikheil Chkhenkel held a working meeting with the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Georgia, Peter Fischer, where the parties discussed implemented and ongoing projects in the field of vocational education, issues of deepening cooperation and future plans.
Mikheil Chkhenkel thanked the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany for supporting the Georgian education system and noted that in recent years a number of important and large-scale projects have been implemented with the assistance of the German government.
The Education Minister especially emphasized the fruitful cooperation between Georgia and Germany in the development of vocational education, within which the active participation of the private sector has created new professional standards, and in addition, a new approach to vocational education financing was prepared, taking into account the outcomes of institutions o the established funding model.
During his speech, the Education Minister stressed the importance of establishing a Vocational Skills Agency and noted that since 2021 Georgia has implemented an unprecedented and completely innovative management model in the education system – a Vocational Skills Agency founded by a private-public partnership, which is run by seven major employers’ unions with representatives of the public sector.
According to the minister, it was through the agency’s active involvement and cooperation with the German side, private-public partnerships and consultations with stakeholders that the regulatory rule for organizing qualifying exams has been established, which enables a comprehensive evaluation of student’s results.
It is noteworthy that in the evaluation process, as sector skills organizations, the private sector will be actively involved, which is particularly important in terms of strengthening cooperation with sectoral policy and sectoral skills organizations in vocational education.
Speakers at the meeting also touched on supporting the internationalization of vocational education and promoting the development of Centers of Excellence (CoE) and international colleges, which will help to attract foreign students.
The parties noted that, within the framework of the partnership between the ministry and the German Reconstruction Credit Bank (KfW), active work continues on the development of two new international centers – Telavi Wine School and Dusheti Tourism School. Also, with the support of the German government, the transport/logistics and construction department is actively underway in Tbilisi.
Mikheil Chchenkel also drew attention to the partnership with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) and said that it was with the support of GIZ that the dual model of German education was introduced into the Georgian vocational education system, which is successfully implemented and developed today.
In his turn, Peter Fischer thanked Mikheil Chkhenkel for the fruitful cooperation and reiterated his willingness to support the education system of Georgia. The ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany also focused on the prospects of implementing new joint initiatives in the direction of vocational education.
The meeting was also attended by Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Georgia Valerian Gobronidze, General Director of the Professional Skills Agency Tamar Kitiashvili, Head of the Development Service of the Embassy of Germany, Lydia Kristman of the German Reconstruction Credit Bank (KfW) and the International Cooperation Society of Germany
