By Lela Javakhishvili, Tornike Korkotashvili

Abstract

The study aims to identify the educational needs of the Koni Municipality population. For this purpose, qualitative research, namely focus group discussions were conducted in the region. Total of 6 focus groups were conducted in the town of Koni and village of Nakhakhulevi. Respondents were divided into focus groups according to their age and place of residence, rural or urban settlements within Khoni municipality. The research showed that poverty and unemployment are one of the most pressing economic issues in the municipality. Majority of the currently employed individuals in the municipality work in agricultural, retail trade and furniture production sectors. Due to lack of educational centers in the municipality and limited financial resources, the majority of the local population does not have access to post-secondary formal or informal education. Namely, among most demanded skills and knowledge were foreign language proficiency, computer literacy and craftsmanship. Thus, these are the spheres the population would be willing to have training courses locally.

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By Lela Javakhishvili, Tornike Korkotashvili

The Objective of the current study was to identify the most demanded expertise on the Khoni labor market. For this purpose, qualitative research method, namely in-depth interviews were utilized. Total of 11 interviews with the local employers from governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations and private businesses were carried out. Overall, according to the employers, there is a high demand on high as well as low skilled labor force in the municipality. Computer literacy, clerical work and foreign language knowledge was equally underlined as essential by all employers. As for the non-formal education, only those employers whose organization depends on high skilled labor force (production, local municipality administration and healthcare sector, NGOs) allocate certain funds for training their personnel. Taking into account the general market demands on the local labor market, respondents named computer literacy, financial literacy, and foreign languages as the most desirable educational programs for raising the skills of the existing/potential employees.

The study was commissioned by DVV International.