Abstract:

The article analyzes the trends of higher economic education in the world and in Georgia. The level of employment of young people has been studied, based on the analysis of vacancies, the demand for graduates of economic educational programs in Georgia has been specified.
Quantitative and qualitative research has been conducted to reveal the challenges of economic education in higher educational institutions of Georgia and the factors affecting the employment of graduates.

The main purpose of the study was to determine the compatibility of the skills of graduates with the qualification requirements of employers and the learning outcomes of the programs. Also, it was determined which educational level of graduates is in demand and what is the salary. Besides this the level of satisfaction of graduates was assessed. For the research purpose, a survey of graduates, employers, academic and invited staff as well as students was conducted. The results were processed with SPSS.

The paper presents the main findings of the quantitative research according to the groups of interviewees, summarizes the results of the discussion with the focus groups, identifies the competencies required for professional activity for the economic educational programs, describes the changes implemented in the process of university education, and determines the factors promoting employment.

Research Methodology and Data Used: Quantitative and qualitative research has been conducted to achieve the research objective and test the hypotheses. The data of the National Department of Statistics of Georgia, the materials of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia, the National Center for the Enhancement of the Quality of Education of Georgia, higher economic education programs have been studied and analyzed. Research hypotheses are substantiated using correlation and regression analysis.

At the end of the paper, conclusions on the main challenges of higher economic education are presented, recommendations are developed on ways to improve the employment of graduates.

Keywords:

Higher economic education, employment factors, graduate employment, labor market, Georgia.