Quality of education, learning outcomes and skills development have been named as key problems by people who participated in the Georgian preliminary Post2015 consultations. Respondents felt that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure a good education and living standards. In the study employment was framed as “better job opportunities”; and participants felt that better linking between education and labour market demands, as well as lifelong education were among the goals that would help solve some of the issues.
Over time a kind of consensus has emerged amongst some community members that we need to look for other safety nets. That governments ceased being able to fullfill that promise a long time ago. Perhaps even that the idea of a job in itself is becoming obsolete (source). We can propose the broader topic of Making a Living and include questions to help us dig further into the various facets – especially to de-construct the “unemployed youth”, “vulnerable groups”, “the disabled” labeling. While these terms are often used in policy contexts, which don’t necessarily tell us much about the ways individuals attach meaning to work. Or how it makes sense to respond to structural changes in our local labour markets when they are caused by forces that act on a global scale (source). Perhaps youth emigration/ brain drain is another possible issue we could tackle? (source)
How are people in your local environment learning outside school? What do local youth aspire to when it comes to fulfilling professional lives? What is the least resourced talent working on? What safety nets are there to support them, aside from (scarce) government aid?
We’re ourselves experimenting with different approaches: we would like to compare notes with peers dealing with the issue in different parts of the world, especially in Armenia, Egypt and Georgia.
You know the situation on the ground where you are better than us.
Help us reach out to people running interesting initiatives we can learn from, and invite them to join us by posting a personal introduction and a story* telling us about their project here: https://edgeryders.eu/futurespotting-making-a-living
*A small number of selected stories will be published and paid for.