Employment Shuttle Program through RDFG project “Rural Development for Sustainable Growth of Tetritskaro Municipality” continues. Project is implemented with the financial support of European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD). Employment Shuttle in Tetritskaro municipality started three months ago. Program sessions, conducted by the program mentor, corporative volunteers, employment and self-employment field specialists, take place in RDFG Tetritskato office two times a week. Beneficiaries involve in the program activities with big enthusiasm.

During this week, Nino Giorgadze, the representative of non-governmental organization “Orbeliani Georgia” and the representatives of above mentioned project “Rural Development for Sustainable Growth of Tetritskaro Municipality” visited the program. First part of the session was about small-scale grants program of “Orbeliani Georgia”. Into the framework of this program, agricultural and social projects will be granted in Tetritskaro municipality. Nino Giorgadze Mentioned, that application process is open to everyone, who aspires to make positive changes in the community.

“Apparently, Employment Shuttle participants got interested with “Orbeliani Georgia” grant program during the session. I think they can write and implement very interesting projects. On the one hand, they contribute in their community and regional development, and on the other hand, they will have a chance to use experience and knowledge gained through this program in practice” – Said Nino Giorgadze.

After meeting corporative volunteers, the participants had simulation job-interviews. Nelly Revazishvili, “Rural Development for Sustainable Growth of Tetritskaro Municipality” project manager and Mariam Shurgaia, project officer where leading this process. At the beginning of the interviews participants named desirable vacancies and did their best to get the job.

“With this imitation process we try to prepare them for real job-interviews. We had this simulation at the beginning of the program and todays interviews were clear example of how they’ve grown and developed through this three months. That’s exactly the goal of our program, to help the participants in gaining and developing employment skills”. – Mentioned Nelly Revazishvili.

RDFG implements “Rural Development for Sustainable Growth of Tetritskaro Municipality” in the framework of the second phase of European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development – ENPARD.

ENPARD II uses a LEADER approach to economic development. Fundamentally, it is the energy and resources of the local people that contribute to the rural development process by forming partnerships at a sub-regional level between the public, private and civil sectors. The LEADER approach is associated with local empowerment through local strategy development and resource allocation. The main tool for the application of the LEADER approach to area development and involving local representatives in decision-making is the Local Action Group (LAG).

The project partners are Agro-Technology Association (ATA), Lithuanian Local Action Groups Network and the Ministry of Agriculture of Lithuania.