Context
Two decades after independence, the living standards for the majority of the Kyrgyz population have not significantly improved. According to the National Statistical Committee, the youth unemployment rate has reached nearly 16 per cent, and women are more affected than men. This situation is aggravated by the fact that many vocational education and further training offers do not meet the requirements of the labour market. Vocational education courses and employment promotion measures are designed and implemented in cooperation with the private sector, but only to a small extent. Graduates and job seekers are usually inadequately informed about trades, career opportunities, vocational education, training, further education or re-training.
The lack of qualified specialists is an important barrier to overcome to foster the economic growth of Kyrgyzstan.
Objective
The target audience in pilot regions have received professional orientation and relevant qualification for their successful integration into the Kyrgyz labour market.
Approach
The project seeks to improve the employment situation of job seekers who attended vocational education courses and/or used employment promotion mechanisms in the pilot regions of Kyrgyzstan. The promotion of appropriate cooperation mechanisms will contribute to the improvement of cooperation between the state, the private sector and the civil society. The focus lies on promoting employment and improving the income situation, especially of women in rural areas, contributing to poverty reduction and gender equality. This is intended to support the strengthening of overall economic and social conditions of the Kyrgyz private sector and the creation of sustainable economic development.
The project follows its predecessor "Vocational Training and Employment Promotion", which has been implemented since 2019.
The new project aims to introduce and implement a cooperation model for career guidance and counselling, to develop and disseminate new short-term vocational education courses of high demand and to spread independent certification and validation procedures in selected pilot regions. Target groups of the program are youth of both sexes looking for a job after graduating from training. The target group is largely represented by people who are at high risk of poverty or those currently living in poverty. In order to provide professional orientation and (further) qualification to the target group, the project provides counselling in three key areas:
Improving the quality of labour market services
Youth and women employment promotion
Improving the quality of vocational education
Results
1881 people were trained in qualification measures
65 per cent employment rate from the participants of qualification measures at vocational schools
six employment-oriented qualification measures established at vocational schools
186 students were independently certified
one Labour Market Information System developed and implemented countrywide
650 ninth grade students are participating in the career guidance programme
two Industry Associations established
36 agricultural cooperatives founded
58 employment offices developed a countrywide systematic approach on labour market services
16 schools developed a career guidance program for ninth grade students
four Social Partnership Networks on career guidance were founded