Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- President Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the presentation of new initiatives to improve the quality of vocational education and training the population in professions on 4 October.

Vocational education occupies a special place in economic development. Thus, in developed countries, up to 75 percent of students are covered by vocational education.

This system is also being developed in our country, in accordance with the requirements of the labor market. The training of mid-level specialists is carried out mainly in colleges and technical schools of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, as well as single-centers under the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction.

Currently, 689 professional educational institutions provide training in 714 professions and specialties, 20 Ishga Markhamat monocenters teach 54 professions and 6 foreign languages.

A dual form of education was introduced, allowing students to study and work at the same time. Thanks to this system, together with 2 thousand enterprises, 6 thousand boys and girls are trained. Also, 9th grade graduates are taught various specialties in vocational schools, and 11th grade graduates are trained in colleges and technical schools.

However, there are certain gaps in the field. Some educational programs are not linked to the demands of life. Vocational education is unattractive for schoolchildren. As a result, the capacity of educational institutions is not fully used.

Monocenters are not able to fully satisfy the need for mid-level personnel. Graduates have to take an additional exam because they are not assigned a qualifying rank. There is no interaction between the External Labor Migration Agency and vocational education. There is insufficient work on teaching foreign languages and issuing documents confirming their level of proficiency.

In order to eliminate these shortcomings and improve the quality of vocational training, the relevant ministries have developed new proposals. At the presentation today, the responsible persons presented detailed information.

Proposals include the introduction of foreign educational programs, ensuring recognition of graduates’ qualifications in the domestic and foreign markets, wider attraction of students to colleges and technical schools, as well as measures to improve the quality of professional training in single-centers.

The head of our state gave additional instructions to improve these proposals. It was emphasized that youth employment is of utmost importance; it is necessary to train youth in professions in specific areas, based on the specialization of the regions and the needs of enterprises in them.

The importance of gradual updating of classifiers of professions and vocational education, bringing them into line with international standards, and close interaction of professional educational institutions with schools and universities was noted. It has been determined that the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation will coordinate the activities of professional educational institutions as an integral system.

Starting from the next academic year, one of the technical schools in each region will introduce an internationally recognized program. Their graduates will receive international qualifications and a foreign language certificate. Advanced quality criteria for vocational education and training will also be introduced.

Vocational training in single-centers will be carried out on the basis of orders from employers, which will become an important factor in the employment of graduates.

Responsible persons were instructed to develop a program for the development of the material and technical base of the vocational education system until 2030.