Dozens of Vocational Colleges to Pass to Private Managers as Mirziyoyev Targets Work-Ready Graduates

Uzbekistan plans to transfer a portion of its state vocational colleges to private business management under 15-year contracts, with the aim of producing graduates who can enter the workforce immediately after completing their studies. The initiative, targeting at least 30,000 students annually, was announced on 2 November at a presidential meeting on labour migration chaired by Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Presidential spokesman Sherzod Asadov said two to three technical colleges in each region of the country would be placed under the management of large entrepreneurs. The Tashkent Pipe Plant in the Sergeli district of the capital was cited as a potential participant: the enterprise has proposed training 2,500 welders, electricians and locksmiths per year, drawing on its own specialist instructors.

Graduates of the transferred colleges will receive state-standard qualification certificates. To encourage investment, businesses taking on management responsibilities will be offered tax incentives on funds spent on workforce training and equipment purchases. Grants will also be paid for each graduate successfully placed in employment abroad.

Incentives for foreign-language and skills training

Parts of college buildings will be made available rent-free for teaching vocational skills and foreign languages to young people. Foreign teachers and experts brought in from abroad will face a social tax rate of just one percent, and equipment imported for training purposes will be exempt from customs duties.

Private employment agencies to take over overseas placement by 2027

The meeting also addressed the performance of private employment agencies that arrange work abroad for Uzbek citizens. Since licensing requirements were simplified, the number of such agencies has tripled over two years, while the number of citizens placed in overseas jobs through them has risen fivefold, according to figures presented at the session.

Mirziyoyev nonetheless pointed to cases of corruption, fraud against citizens and other violations in the sector. A separate law has already been adopted to establish a legal framework for agency operations. From 2027, the task of sending citizens to work abroad is to be handed entirely to the most reliable private agencies, which will receive a payment of 1.5 million soums for each person placed in a well-paid position.

The president ordered a draft decision on improving agency operations to be prepared within one month. Their work is also to be reclassified as a social service, with a simplified tax regime to follow. A public ratings system will be introduced, assessing agencies on actual job placements, respect for workers’ rights, wage levels and the availability of social guarantees.