Georgian PM stresses vocational education amid ‘severe’ labor market imbalances

Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday highlighted the urgent need to strengthen vocational education as part of measures to address “significant mismatches” between university enrollment and labor market demand, during the presentation of a recent labor market study.

He claimed according to the study, only 60% of currently employed workers actually require a university degree for their jobs, leaving 40% better suited for vocational training. 

Kobakhidze stressed that improving the quality and relevance of vocational education was a key goal of ongoing reforms.

“Professional education has faced serious challenges for years. Our reform aims to enhance the system and raise standards to ensure young people can choose careers aligned with their skills and labor market needs,” he said.

The labor market analysis, conducted using a five-year projection model developed by Cambridge Econometrics, revealed stark imbalances across various fields of study, the official claimed.

The forecast considered both macroeconomic factors and major infrastructure projects, including the Anaklia port, Black Sea submarine cable, and Vaziani Airport.

The study showed that 64,095 workers will require higher education over the next five years, including 42,316 in the private sector and 21,779 in the public sector. 

High-demand professions include secondary school teachers, sales and marketing managers, nurses, doctors, construction managers, programmers, vocational education teachers, construction supervisors, electricians, and supply and distribution managers.

Conversely, some fields face significant oversupply, the PM said, notably law. Over the past five years, an average of 3,598 students enrolled in law faculties annually, yet only 2,047 graduates were needed in the labor market - leaving an excess of roughly 1,500 law graduates per year who may struggle to find relevant employment.

“This imbalance highlights the necessity of labor market analysis. Without it, students were effectively being issued degrees that would not match real employment opportunities - a situation the state has a responsibility to prevent,” Kobakhidze said.