Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA), with support from the World Bank, is starting a new programme which aims to increase the innovative activities of entities and individuals and their participation in the digital economy of Georgia.
The Government of Georgia has secured support from the World Bank Group for the Georgia National Innovation Ecosystem (GENIE) Project, for the amount of US$23.5 million. The main objective of the project is to increase the innovative activities of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and individuals in Georgia, and their participation in the digital economy.
The central institution responsible for coordination of the project is Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency (GITA) under the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia (MoESD).
A Georgian ICT labour market analysis conducted in 2017 found that the ICT workforce was not sufficiently qualified to meet national and international market requirements. The GENIE project aims to implement a collaborative skills strategy to improve the digital skills of Georgian professionals in line with the economic and digital strategies of the country. An ICT training programme in the scope of the GENIE project will start with a pilot phase aiming to train 500 IT specialists, which will be followed by a larger scale phase to accommodate the training of 2,500 IT specialists. Overall, the whole programme aims to train 3,000 participants by March 2023.
Participants in the trainings will learn the necessary technical and professional skills to succeed in technology positions across industries, while also preparing for specific certifications. The trainings are offered in 30 fields including front-end programming, project management, back-end programming, Microsoft technologies, Cisco, blockchain, cybersecurity, Computer Aided Design and Engineering, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning, Mobile Development and many more. Most of the intensive trainings have prerequisites which the applicants must have or gain independently before applying.
The trainings are fully funded under the GENIE project, and will be held online, starting in December until March. The deadline for applying is 30 November. More details regarding the registration can be found on the following link: https://ict.gov.ge/how-to-apply/?en
The evaluation of applicants will be conducted through assigning ratings based on a combination of eligibility, knowledge and motivation.