Dear Ms Veltauri,

clearly, there is no general solution to the question how to ensure access to Public Employment Services in rural areas that could be elaborated without empirical research. The concrete solution depends on various circumstances of geographical, social and political nature, as well as on the available technical, financial and human resources.

What we need is a systematic approach, based on an institutional development plan for SESA. This plan should include a roadmap on how to create additional access points (including virtual ones) complementing the Regional Centres in order to reach a broad customer base in remote areas.

Besides the availability of resources, an effective solution to this issue requires to customise SESA services to conditions like

• size and density of the population of the target area;
• status of the infrastructure and frequency of public transport, which is relevant for accessibility of service points;
• possibility of using mobile services where clients cannot or provide transport to RC;
• availability of funding for subsidizing travel costs (like the travel vouchers for job interviews or persons with disabilities);
• availability of facilities that can be used temporarily as service delivery units – like community centres or municipal premises, allowing for the presence of SESA staff on a regular (e.g. weekly) basis;
• sufficient staff in the responsible Regional Centre to deliver services in small towns or villages without impairing the delivery of services of the Regional Centre – which will be difficult in Centres with only 2 staff;
• technical infrastructure to possibly use methods of e-governance, like online registration and mediation.

In the case of Ajara conditions are different due to the existence of an independent and functioning Employment Service which covers the entire region. It certainly needs to be negotiated how to cooperate and create synergies without setting up a competing parallel structure.

Institutional Development Plan

To ensure a systematic approach, the first thing we should do is to agree on an institutional development plan. For a successful organisational build-up it is of utmost importance to observe the correct sequencing of activities.

1. The first step, and necessary condition, would be to consolidate the 10 Regional Centres (excepting Tbilisi City Centre, as there are offices at rayon level) and to ensure that they are capable to execute their tasks professionally and to apply the NSM not only formally.

2. Only when this precondition is fulfilled it makes sense to roll out the services to smaller municipalities, villages and remote rural areas. To find the best solution for each region requires to involve the Heads of the RCs in the decisions, since they are acquainted with the local conditions. Their involvement is also needed to ensure ownership and commitment.

3. For the time being this means to continue the suboptimal practice of registering job-seekers in SSA offices in those locations where the Regional Centres are not accessible for all clients. Of course, this can only be a transitional makeshift solution. During this transitional phase a new classification of job seekers should be established which allows for differentiating unemployed job-seekers from other categories, and to ensure that persons who need Targeted Social Assistance, but are not capable to work, receive the necessary support without being forced to register in the Worknet as fake job-seekers.

Capacity building

Our training plan contains a 2-day module on institutional development for SESA Leadership, Heads of Regional Centres, Heads of Departments and Divisions. This is certainly not enough, since there are also many other issues be covered. I suggest that this very basic training be followed up by a workshop dedicated specifically to discuss the local conditions. The workshop should be complemented by field visits to the Regional Centres. This could be done in the context of Activity 4.1.1 on the assessment of NSM implementation.

I attach the short outline of Activity 4.1.2. from the Inception Report. We will focus on this issue in more detail in the Progress Report which we are currently drafting. Your comments and proposals on the above ides would therefore be very helpful.

Thanks a lot in advance and best regards,

Heinrich

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