Advancing E-work Market Development in Rural Areas
We recently completed a project entitled Supporting E-work Market Development in Rural Areas, under the EU-funded and UNDP-implemented program “Improving Rural Development in Georgia” (IRDG).
When it comes to economic opportunities, the rural-urban development divide is a major challenge in Georgia. Indeed, the gap between rural and urban areas is vivid with regard to productivity, poverty levels, quality of services, as well as skills mismatch.
To address these challenges, in 2021 we worked on a project aimed at advancing the e-work market’s development in Georgia, in the course of which we assessed the e-work market demand among enterprises in the five biggest cities in Georgia and helped to match demand with the rural labor force of selected municipalities. More precisely, we developed a well-informed policy paper on e-work development in Georgia and devised policy recommendations for public institutions in Georgia to facilitate the engagement of the rural labor force in teleworking.
“Rapid development of modern technologies has significantly changed lifestyles globally. The changes have massively affected the environment we work in and a new way of working – remote work - is taking its place gradually. The study aims to identify the specifics of the remote labor market with respect to existing and potential jobs, to identify key factors in maintaining and promoting this new environment, and to assess employment prospects for the workforce in rural areas. This, in turn, provides new opportunities to improve living standards for the most vulnerable people living in rural areas,” said Ms. Elza Jgerenaia, Senior Consultant at PMCG.
Furthermore, keeping in mind the most pertinent issues in rural areas and focusing on the skills mismatch on the labor market, PMCG designed an interactive training module on the topic of how to work remotely, and delivered it to rural youth from eight municipalities (Keda, Khulo, Akhalkalaki, Borjomi, Tetritskaro, Kazbegi, Dedoplistskaro, and Lagodekhi). Participants of the trainings gained information about working remotely, and learned how to use a number of e-working tools essential to telecommuting.
“The training was a great opportunity to learn more about adapting to modern remote work and communication. We learned how to gain new skills and utilize the necessary tools and resources in order to become more productive, flexible, and adaptable to the demands of our century,” said Jemal Saginadze, a participant of the training.
The training module on teleworking attracted substantial interest among stakeholders, many of whom noted that similar training had not previously been conducted and that the module would be useful for civil servants, job-seekers, VET students, and VET administrations.
To read more about the policy paper, visit the following link: Supporting E-Work Market Development in Rural Areas
