EU4Youth launched the National Steering Group on Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship in Georgia

On 17 March, a National Steering Group on Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship was launched in Tbilisi, Georgia, as part of the third phase of the EU4Youth programme funded by the European Union.

Representatives from the public, private and NGO sectors attended the meeting and discussed future plans and activities to improve youth employability, employment, and entrepreneurship in the country.

Andrius Kalindra, Ambassador of the Republic of Lithuania to Georgia, Colombe De Mercey, Team Leader, Governance and Human Capital at the EU Delegation to Georgia and Nino Veltauri, Director of LEPL State Employment Support Agency, delivered the opening remarks and opened the event.

General unemployment in Georgia in 2022 is 20%, and figures double for the youth of 18-30 years old. In the age of 15-24, NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, and Training) are approximately 25%, and the share has been rising during the last years despite the post-pandemic recovery (source: UNDP 2022). That could be caused due to a complicated transition from education to the labour market, economic conditions such as low demand, high unemployment, low wages, or lack of information regarding career opportunities.

Aiming to better this situation, the EU co-funded EU4Youth Phase III Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship programme established a National Steering Group in Georgia. Representatives from governmental institutions, businesses and NGOs together endorsed the actions and plans to create an enabling environment to foster Georgia’s youth employment and entrepreneurship.

“The National Steering Group members are joining efforts to improve the future of young people, and this project is about sharing best practices. I believe more concrete actions can be taken to involve more youth in the labour market and decision-making. For example, youth minorities could be empowered for successful entrepreneurship”, said Colombe de Mercey, Delegation of the European Union to Georgia.

The National Steering Group of Georgia includes experts from Skills Agency Georgia, the Youth Workers’ Association of Georgia, the State Employment Support Agency, Caucasus Environmental Network, World Vision Georgia, and observers from the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, European Training Foundation, and other technical assistance programmes.

Twice a year, the National Steering Group will provide feedback and endorse actions and plans of the EU4Youth programme, including discussions of other topics relevant to the group members’ priorities.

About the Project

EU4Youth Phase III Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship programme aims to better youth entrepreneurship and employability in Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries and Georgia is one of them.  The project focuses on three main aspects: grants scheme (Component 1), technical assistance (Component 2), and scholarships scheme (Component 3).

As the regional initiative, the EU4Youth programme facilitates networking, cross-sectoral partnerships and the exchange of knowledge and good practices among the beneficiary countries, as well as with EU member states. Among its activities, the programme supports networking and mutual learning of public employment services with the aim of building institutional capacities to tackle youth employment challenges. It promotes fair labour and decent work standards through podcasts, chatbot games and events bringing youth and employer organisations. The initiative encourages discussions and actions on validation and certification of skills acquired through non-formal/informal learning. Through grants to non-governmental organisations, it supports multi-country actions to foster young people’s digital, green transition, social entrepreneurial and career management skills.

For further information, please contact:

• Erikas Jankauskas, Programme Manager, [email protected]
• Austėja Vilkelytė, Deputy Head of International Development Cooperation Project Division, [email protected]