The FINANCIAL — Intellectual workers earn twice more than physical workers in Georgia, according to GeoStat.
The FINANCIAL — Intellectual workers earn twice more than physical workers in Georgia, according to GeoStat.
Vocational college representatives claim that salaries for their graduates should be higher than they are. Today they are not being paid fairly, consistent with the value of their work, as businesses are oriented at a cheaper workforce. This is significantly contributing to the low popularity of vocational colleges in Georgia and the migration of the local workforce abroad.
GEL 1,713.5 is the nominal monthly salary of the financial sector as of the first quarter of 2012, while the construction sector amounts to GEL 841.2, according to GeoStat.
In July 2012, 15 graduates of professional college Spectri were employed in the construction sector with a daily salary of GEL 50, free-of-charge meals and insurance. The monthly salary of these 15 college graduates amounts to GEL 1,000 which is almost twice more than the average nominal salary in Georgia. However, not every college graduate earns so much. Representatives of professional colleges complain that manual labour and mid-level work in the service sector is not paid fairly in accordance with its true value.
Agriculture, construction, transport and communication and HoReCa are the main spheres in which college graduates are hired.
The average nominal labour salary for males hired in the agro sector is GEL 508.3 as of the first quarter of 2012; in construction it is GEL 841.2; transport and communication – GEL 1,031.1; HoReCa sector – 472.1 GEL.
“Professions demanding big physical work are not paid in accordance with their real worth. This system should change. The majority of companies are targeting the cheaper end of the workforce spectrum to cut expenses. The participation of companies and certain concrete acts are important and necessary for the regulation of this process. The certified workforce should be prioritized and should receive appropriate payment in Georgia,” Tea Lezhava, Professional Orientation and Career Planning Manager at professional college Spectri, told The FINANCIAL.
In the 2011-12 academic years professional college Spectri had 905 graduates. “We have approximately 20 students on each programme. We have budgetary, with state finance, and non-budgetary tuition fees. The tuition fee for a budgetary programme is approximately GEL 35 per month and GEL 70 per month for a non-budgetary programme,” Lezhava said.
65% of Spectri’s graduates are already employed. Their average salary varies from GEL 25 to 50 per day.
The top employing companies of our graduates are: LTD Kaztransgaz Tbilisi, LTD Rusmetal, LTD Kaukasus Road Project, LTD Technohouse, LTD Konstruction, LTD Axel, the Ministry of Agriculture and Geodi XXI.
“Graduates of professional colleges that acquired the profession of waitress, cook, cleaner or other lower-level service worker are more competitive than BA degree holders in tourism. This is what Georgian jobseekers are facing at present. BA diploma holders in Tourism receive general education about global tourism. Besides this, the compensation of professional college graduates is not corresponding to the real worth of their work,” said Rusudan Chartolani, Director of professional college Icarus.
Professional college Icarus had 335 graduates in the 2011-12 academic years. We have 134 students at the position of cook, 128 in the restaurant business, 49 in the guide programme, receptionist – 28, hotel management – 87, tour operators – 90, and barmen – 47.
The government offers GEL 1,000 vouchers for newcomers who pass the minimum level at exams. Otherwise students pay just 30%. Socially vulnerable students are eligible for full tuition fee scholarships. The college has a non-budgetary sector: the programmes of cooks and confectioners. The tuition fee of these programmes is GEL 350. The programme duration varies depending on the different programmes.
“74% of our graduates are employed. Their average monthly salary is GEL 500,” said Chartolani.
According to Chartolani, the main companies that employ their graduates are: hotel Radisson Blu Iveria, Marriot Tbilisi, Courtyard Marriot, restaurant chain GMC, travel company Kongo-Travel, hotel Bazaleti, Holiday Inn, Sheraton, supermarket chain Populi and hypermarket Goodwill.
“It is important to pay employees fairly according to the true worth of their work, especially in the tourism sector. The majority of Georgians have general education at present. There is a big gap in concrete vocations though. The qualified worker of a concrete profession is becoming more highly demanded than those with just general knowledge of the sector,” Chartolani said.
There are over 60 professional colleges in Georgia. 17 are state and 41 private. During the 2011-12 academic years over 8 thousand students graduated from state professional colleges.
“Professional education in Georgia and in developed countries is an important factor for reducing unemployment and stimulating economic development. There is high demand for qualified professional staff on the labour market. Therefore, the aim of the government is to establish a system of vocational education, which will be compatible with international educational standards on the one hand, and on the other hand, will satisfy the requirements of the local market,” Lali Rozomashvili, representative of press-centre of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia.
Rozomashvili said that the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, through reforms, fell flat to a completely new type of vocational education. Presently professional colleges are equipped with a new infrastructure, and offer high quality education on a regional and national level oriented at the labour market.
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