EBRD President: To improve workforce skills, weaknesses in the education system must be addressed

To improve workforce skills, weaknesses in the education system must be addressed, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso said in her exclusive interview with InterPressNews.

“We understand that labour force skills are out of step with the evolving needs of businesses, which is becoming one of the main obstacles facing the private sector competitiveness. To improve workforce skills, weaknesses in the education system must be addressed and skills mismatches eliminated by strengthening national technical and vocational education and training, among others. Addressing other persistent inclusion issues, such as gender disparities and regional differences, will also help address the grievances of the business communities.

One of the mechanisms that we provide to address these issues through is the Investment Council, a platform for public-private dialogue to identify businesses’ and investors’ key challenges, and delivering the necessary reforms to address them. Together with the UK Good Governance Fund, we are working through the Council to connect the business community with key political decision makers, and to work towards the improvement of the business and investment climate in Georgia”, said Odile Renaud-Basso.

President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso is visiting the Caucasus from 12 to 16 September, visiting Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia. In Tbilisi, the EBRD President will hold meetings with Georgia’s political leadership, diplomats, regional heads of international financial institutions, heads of business associations and existing business partners from the private sector, including local banks. The main issues to be discussed will be renewable energy, infrastructural development, reforms and financial sustainability.

See the full interview here.