Zurab Azarashvili, the Georgian minister of labour, said the government-initiated public employment programme for socially vulnerable citizens had given jobs to 23,000 people since March.
Addressing MPs at the parliament, the official said 61,000 socially vulnerable citizens had addressed his body for consultations over the programme since March 1, with 27,800 expressing readiness to work and 23,000 already employed.
“More than 3,000 people have chosen employment in the open labour market; 4,300 socially vulnerable individuals said they were involved in informal economic activities and expressed desire to make them formal. About 600 people requested professional training and will be offered jobs after completing relevant courses”, said the minister, noting 23,000 citizens had abstained from employment so far.
The official said the jobs offered as part of the programme – announced by prime minister Irakli Garibashvili late last year and launched in February – included cleaning of public infrastructure and facilities, construction, prevention of spread of harmful insects and more.
Garibashvili explained the initiative would provide socially vulnerable citizens fit for work with jobs instead of the current social assistance, pointing out that over 200,000 out of 600,000 citizens in the socially vulnerable category were able to work but “do not participate in the economy and are demotivated to be employed legally”. (Agenda/Business World Magazine)
