In May 2026 the ILO published Lifelong learning and skills for the future, a World of Work report arguing that lifelong learning must become a central pillar of economic and social policy. This Georgia Edition sets the report’s findings against Georgia’s skills system — its vocational education reforms, its high levels of overeducation, its limited adult learning — and assesses Georgia against the ILO’s 2023 standard on quality apprenticeships.
Key Findings
- The ILO report, drawing on worker surveys, online vacancy data, institutional data and a review of 174 studies on what works in training, warns that without stronger and more inclusive learning systems the digital, green and demographic transitions risk widening inequalities (ILO, 2026).
- A key finding is that narrow technical skills are not enough: employers increasingly seek combinations of digital and green skills with cognitive, socio-emotional and manual skills (ILO, 2026).
- Georgia’s problem is not only a lack of skills but a mismatch: 27% of prime-age workers and 36% of young workers are overeducated for their jobs, and about 40% of graduates work in mid- or low-skill jobs (IMF, 2026).
- Georgia’s 2018 Law on Vocational Education introduced work-based and dual learning; the European Training Foundation finds strong links between vocational education and the labour market, but access to vocational learning for adults “much more limited” (ETF, 2024).
- Georgia ratified the ILO’s Human Resources Development Convention (No. 142) in 1993. The 2023 Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation (No. 208) offers a benchmark for the next stage of reform.
1. What the ILO Found
The ILO argues that lifelong learning should be treated as a strategic priority — not only to raise productivity, but as an enabler of equity and decent work. It finds that access to quality learning remains limited and unequal; that employers increasingly need workers with rounded skill profiles rather than narrow technical skills; and that AI-specific skills so far make up only a small share of skill demand, because many workers use off-the-shelf AI tools that rely on basic digital, critical-thinking and social skills (ILO, 2026; ILO, 5 May 2026; Nordic Labour Journal, 2026). It calls for broader and more equal access to learning, stronger training systems, and policies that fit people’s lives, including learning in workplaces and across society.
2. Georgia’s Skills Picture
Mismatch rather than shortage
Many Georgian workers hold qualifications above what their jobs require. The IMF estimates that 27% of prime-age workers and 36% of young workers were overeducated in 2024, and that about 40% of graduates work in mid- or low-skill occupations (IMF, 2026). This is consistent with the ILO’s emphasis on the quality and relevance of learning rather than its quantity.
Vocational education: real reform
The Law on Vocational Education, adopted on 20 September 2018, aimed to improve quality and flexibility, connect vocational, general and higher education, and develop adult learning (Ministry of Education and Science, 2018). Work-based learning was introduced from 2016; by 2021 there were 29 programmes using a dual approach in 13 institutions, with more than 50 companies involved (ETF, 2021). In its 2024 assessment the ETF found that dual learning models — with at least 50% of training in real work environments — and mandatory digital skills strengthen the link between vocational education and work (ETF, 2024).
Adult learning: the weak link
The ETF also finds that access to vocational learning for adults remains much more limited than for young people, and that moving between programmes or between vocational and general education is still difficult (ETF, 2024). This is precisely the gap the ILO’s report highlights: lifelong learning systems that serve people throughout their working lives, not only at the start.
3. Georgia and the ILO Apprenticeship Standard (R208)
On 16 June 2023 the International Labour Conference adopted the Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation (No. 208), the first international standard on apprenticeships in decades (ILO, 2023). As a Recommendation it is not ratified and creates no binding obligation, but it sets out what “quality” means. The table lists its main elements as questions for Georgian policy.
| R208 element | Question for Georgia |
|---|---|
| A regulatory framework for quality apprenticeships, developed through social dialogue | Are work-based and dual programmes regulated with the involvement of employers’ and workers’ organisations? |
| A written apprenticeship agreement | Do all apprentices have a written agreement setting out rights and obligations? |
| Adequate remuneration or other financial compensation | Are apprentices paid, and on what basis? |
| Social protection, paid holidays, sick leave and maternity protection | Are apprentices covered by social protection and leave entitlements? |
| Occupational safety and health protection | Does OSH law and labour inspection cover apprentices in practice? |
| Recognition of competencies acquired | Are apprenticeship outcomes recognised in the national qualifications framework? |
Source: ILO (2023), Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation, 2023 (No. 208). GILS has not yet assessed Georgian practice against each element; this is proposed as further research.
4. Counter-argument
Georgia’s recent vocational reforms are among the more advanced in the region, and the ETF’s assessments are broadly positive. Overeducation may partly reflect the structure of labour demand — a small high-skill sector — rather than failures of the education system. More training alone will not create skilled jobs; skills policy must go together with policies that raise demand for skilled labour, a point the ILO itself makes.
5. Conclusion
The ILO’s message — that lifelong learning must become a strategic priority — fits Georgia’s situation: strong initial vocational reforms, but weak adult learning and a high degree of mismatch between qualifications and jobs. R208 provides a ready benchmark for strengthening work-based learning.
GILS Recommendations
- Make adult learning a priority: expand short, recognised programmes for adults and measure adult participation in learning.
- Use R208 as a benchmark for regulating work-based and dual programmes, including written agreements, pay and social protection for apprentices.
- Develop recognition of prior learning so that skills acquired at work and abroad can be certified.
- Link skills and jobs policy, tackling overeducation through demand-side as well as education measures.
GILS Position
Georgia’s next skills reform should focus on adults and on quality work-based learning. GILS supports using the ILO’s 2023 apprenticeship standard as the yardstick. GILS’s own certificate courses, delivered with GMJ Academy, are one contribution to adult learning.
References
- ILO (2026). Lifelong learning and skills for the future. World of Work series. doi.org/10.54394/00033011
- ILO (2026). Lifelong learning must become a strategic policy priority. Press release, 5 May 2026. ilo.org
- Nordic Labour Journal (2026). New ILO report: More investment in lifelong learning needed. nordiclabourjournal.org
- ILO (2023). Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation, 2023 (No. 208). ilo.org
- IMF (2026). Georgia: Selected Issues. Country Report No. 26/134. imf.org
- European Training Foundation (2024). Torino Process: Georgia 2024. etf.europa.eu
- European Training Foundation (2021). Quality assurance in vocational education and training: Georgia. etf.europa.eu
- Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia (2018). VET Reform Progress Report 2017–2018. mes.gov.ge
- ILO NORMLEX. Ratifications for Georgia. normlex.ilo.org
Suggested citation: GILS Research Team (2026). Lifelong Learning and Skills for the Future: Georgia Edition. Editor: G. Pkhakadze. Georgian Institute of Labour Studies, Tbilisi. labour.edu.ge
GILS analyses are prepared with AI-assisted drafting. All figures and claims are verified against the cited primary sources and reviewed under the responsibility of the Editor.