A new organization, SkillsUp Network, has been launched in Tbilisi to strengthen the connection between business and education. Its mission is to promote employer-driven learning by building a flexible, responsive, and market-oriented skills development system.
In an interview with BMGTV, co-founder Irina Tserodze described SkillsUp as a business-oriented educational network - a platform that brings together companies with existing or planned training centers, academies, or partnerships with educational institutions.
“Based on our past experience, we saw strong interest from businesses to co-invest in skills development,” said Tserodze. “In the last two years alone, companies expressed readiness to invest over USD 100 million - from opening training centers to developing new qualifications.”
She noted that while many of these initiatives were previously supported by donor programs, like USAID, they lacked a unified, institutional platform. SkillsUp seeks to fill that gap by turning informal collaboration into a structured network focused on advocacy, data collection, and promoting best practices in informal education.
The platform is membership-based and governed by the private sector, with businesses leading decision-making. It aims to share knowledge on educational trends, quality improvements, and innovative learning methods.
At launch, SkillsUp’s Supervisory Board includes Tegeta Motors and the Caucasus Agricultural School.
