- Swisscontact (Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation)
- Georgia
Project description
The project tackles a core structural challenge: although the hospitality sector in Georgia is expanding rapidly, the skills system has not kept pace. Employers struggle to find workers, while many young people, especially from rural areas, do not view hospitality as a viable career path or lack access to quality training opportunities. The project responds to this gap by creating a connection between training and employment. At its core is a private-sector-led hospitality training model shaped by real market demand rather than existing educational supply. What makes this project valuable is not only the model itself, but also the journey that shaped it. The initiative evolved in a politically and economically volatile environment, where building collective action, long-term investment, and shared ownership among private sector actors is far from easy. One of the most important lessons from this experience is that it is possible to motivate private sector stakeholders to move beyond being mere “consumers of labour” and become genuine co-creators of a stronger skills development ecosystem. The project pilots a model in which the private sector takes the driver’s seat in shaping, financing, and delivering training, at the same time taking the initiative to build bridges with the public sector. The project maintains a strong inclusion focus by creating pathways for rural youth and women, and ensuring direct links to real job opportunities. In parallel, the project is exploring impact-linked finance mechanisms as a way to make skills systems more sustainable and attractive for investment. WorldSkills believes this experience offers valuable lessons for other countries seeking practical, employer-driven, and more resilient approaches to VET and workforce development.
Who we would like to meet
Open to all
Contact
Gabriela Damian-Timosenco // gabriela.damian-timosenco@swisscontact.org Our organization aims to unleash the potential of private initiative to foster sustainable development and shared prosperity in developing and emerging countries. Dr. Gabriela Damian-Timosenco, strategic advisor in the PSE-VET project + another person, to be determined //