Fighting Unemployment in Georgia
Georgia is among the countries lagging in development. Economic advancement and production have not yet even caught up to the levels they stood at 15 years ago. Poverty is omnipresent and unemployment rampant. Official statistics indicate the unemployment rate is around 12%, however the Department of Statistics does not include in this figure individuals living in villages on even minimal plots of land as they are considered self-employed. That is, individuals who are effectively unemployed and rely on subsistence farming to survive are included among the employed. Thus, while it is difficult to obtain credible information about the unemployment rate in Georgia, public concern about the issue is widespread. In 2004 poverty and unemployment were regarded by the Georgian public as the country’s most pressing problems. The Georgian government has on many occasions affirmed its dedication to alleviating the country’s dire economic conditions. The Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Programme (EDPRP) adopted in June 2003 was the first comprehensive document outlining a strategy for economic recovery. But the implementation effort proved insufficient. The post-Rose Revolution leadership effectively abandoned the EDPRP in favour of its own broad strategy—the Basic Data and Directions (BDD) (2006) document, which outlines priorities for the years 2007-2010. It states that the ne leadership strives to attain sustainable economic growth and to increase private sector-fuelled employment. This same goal is outlined in the ENP Action Plan as well. Although it does not refer directly to employment per se, the Action Plan recommends taking steps towards sustainable economic growth and development of human capital (Priority Area 3). For the latter the document recommends strengthening and reforming Georgia’s higher and vocational education systems (Subchapter 4.7.1). One of the actions taken by the Georgian government to address the problem of unemployment was the introduction of an on-the-job training programme in 2006. Private businesses were invited to hire “interns” selected through the programme for a three-month period. The internships were paid for by the state. The programme was initiated in August 2006, and the internships took place from September through December 2006. This report examines the programme and its implementation in 2006 to assess its impact on employment/training and on the economy at large. Analysing this experience is especially important given the planned expansion of the programme in 2007—namely, the doubling of the number of trainees relative to the 2006 figure.
