Career development begins for the girl graduates of training on web development and social media marketing
Date:
Girls are still underrepresented in the field of information and communications technology (ICT). Compared to boys, only a small number of girls in Georgia pursue their education and career in this sector.
This year, aimed at reducing this inequality and supporting the involvement of women in ICT, UN Women organized and launched a new initiative in cooperation with the Innovative Education Foundation, GeoLab, Batumi State University, Kutaisi Akaki Tsereteli State University, Ilia State University and WomenTechmakers. The initiative envisaged free courses on web development and social media marketing for girls and women aged 18-35 in five regions of western Georgia: Adjara, Guria, Imereti, Racha and Samegrelo.
Within the framework of this initiative, 116 participants acquired practical, basic skills on web development and social media marketing. On 20 May 2019, the training graduates met with future employers, ICT-sector representatives and partner organizations at Tech Park in Tbilisi. Avtandil Kasradze, chairperson of Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency, and representatives of UN Women and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway attended the meeting.
Natia, who took the trainings in Imereti, spoke about her experience: “Learning web development was beyond my imagination. From today’s standpoint, though, I now understand that nothing is impossible. These trainings have given me many opportunities. My life is changing in the blink of an eye.”
It is noteworthy that the top 40 graduates will receive a paid internship. The three participants with the highest scores will also travel to Portugal to attend a technology event.
The initiative is part of the UN Women project “A Joint Action for Women’s Economic Empowerment in Georgia”, implemented with the generous financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway. The project aims to support women’s economic empowerment by assisting them to acquire skills and experience that will help them find jobs and start their own ventures.