Pilot Survey of Labour Market Needs in Georgia Tourism, Apparel, ICT, Food Processing

Methodology Four sectors: Tourism, Apparel, ICT, and Food Processing Training of four MoESD staff members, plus involvement of representatives from Geostat and MoES General research process Qualitative methods: Focus groups, in-depth interviews and real experience Quantitative methods: sampling, questionnaire development, Excel Pivot Tables Document analysis: existing reports and data on internet 50 companies surveyed by telephone in each sector in February, 2012 Supplementary methods: relevant documents, in-depth interviews with stakeholders, official data

Difficulties in Finding Employees (I) How easy is it for you to find a qualified employee?

Companies who have looked for an employee/managed to hire an employee Difficulties in Finding Employees (II) Companies who have looked for an employee/managed to hire an employee

Difficulties in Finding Employees In all four sectors companies find it hard to find a qualified employee About half of surveyed companies were looking for employees in the past 12 months Actual hiring rate among these companies was low, except in the apparel sector In apparel, 79% of companies succeeded in hiring. However, in conversation with apparel companies it became apparent that turnover of employees is high in this sector

Level of Education Required In your most needed category of employee, what level of education are you primarily looking for?

Level of Education Required Generally, experience is much more valued than a formal education. This is particularly true for tourism and apparel In apparel, university education is least sought, while vocational education is more important than in the other three sectors Where university education is highly demanded (tourism and ICT), it is not because of the knowledge gained at universities per se, but because of the perception that graduates would be generally more intelligent and capable of performing basic tasks

Ways of Hiring Internet advertisement is most important in tourism and ICT sectors For apparel and food processing, personal acquaintances play the most important role Companies rarely address educational institutions, including VET centers, to find potential employees

Complaints About Lack of Professional Manners Amongst Applicants One interesting observation was that companies across all sectors complain about the lack of “professional manners” of potential employees (such as lack of discipline and motivation)

Conclusions and Recommendations Clear labour mismatch exists Although most companies tried to find new employees in the past 12 months, only half succeeded – regardless of the sector Lack of “professional manners” is often mentioned by companies Could be suggested to VET centers to create simulations of real-life situation so that students can understand the need for a sense of responsibility VET colleges are rarely used for recruitment purposes This suggests that there is a room for VET centers to reach out to relevant companies Companies in Georgia usually look for new employees either through the internet or personal acquaintances, whilst VET colleges are rarely used for recruitment purposes. This suggests that there is a room for VET centers to reach out to relevant companies

Sector-specific Conclusions (I) Tourism: VET centers should also focus on language skills and good professional manners ICT: Raise awareness of VET programs and involve companies in the VET process, via ‘praktikums’ The most demanded employee category for ICT companies is ‘General IT Specialist’ Good opportunity for VET programs to fill this gap with VET graduates. In the tourism sector, given the preference of tourism companies for educated people with language skills and a good professional manner, VET centers can tailor programs which focus on these priorities. In the ICT sector it would be especially important to raise awareness of VET programs and involve companies in the VET process, via ‘praktikums’ and other means. The most demanded employee category for ICT companies is ‘General IT Specialist.’ Thus, because no specific highly technical skill-set is required for such positions, there is a good opportunity for VET programs to fi ll the gap with VET graduates.

Sector-specific Conclusions (II) Apparel: VET programs should be located in the Adjara region rather than in Kutaisi (due to size of companies) Given the rates of growth in the sector, the demand for qualified labor from apparel companies is likely to rise and the government can prepare for this by expanding VET programs in Adjara. Food processing: Specializations vary and experience is far more demanded than training VET centers can focus on training employees of large companies In the apparel sector, VET programs should take into account the geography of companies. Most large and medium companies are located in Adjara. Thus, VET programs should be located in the Adjara region rather than in Kutaisi, where most apparel companies are small or micro businesses that usually employ their own family members. Given the rates of growth in the sector, the demand for qualified labor from apparel companies is likely to rise and the government can prepare for this by expanding VET programs in Adjara. In the food processing sector, specializations vary and experience is far more demanded than training. It will thus be hard for VET programs to address the needs of the companies. However, VET centers can focus on training employees of large companies. This would be a fruitful niche since companies will benefit from employees with similar knowledge and a similar approach to problems.