Bridging Skills and Migration: Transforming TVET for Uzbekistan’s Youthful Workforce

The World Bank's report underscores that Uzbekistan must reform its TVET system and align skills training with labor market demands to empower youth and migrants. Enhancing both pre-departure and reintegration programs is vital for turning migration into a driver of sustainable growth.

The World Bank, alongside contributors from KOICA, WorldSkills, and national ministries such as MoHESI and MoEPR, presents a sweeping analysis of Uzbekistan’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system in the context of growing youth labor demand and outbound migration. Drawing on a combination of administrative data, graduate and training provider surveys, and international policy research, the report makes a compelling case: Uzbekistan’s economic and demographic trajectory hinges on how effectively it can equip its young people with the right skills for both domestic and overseas labor markets.

The country has made significant economic progress in recent years, posting a GDP growth of 6% in 2023 and reducing its national poverty rate to 11%. At the same time, it faces the challenge of a rapidly growing youth population, with nearly 24 million citizens under the age of 29. Job creation has not kept pace, despite reforms; youth unemployment remains higher than in neighboring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Employers continue to cite skills mismatches, weak technical training, and underdeveloped soft and digital competencies as key barriers to business growth. The government has acknowledged these gaps, making employment and skills development a central feature of national reform strategies.

TVET Reform: Ambition Meets Implementation Challenges

Uzbekistan’s TVET sector has been the subject of intense reform since 2017. What was once a mandatory system for upper-secondary students has been reshaped into an optional track, leading to a dramatic decline in enrollment, from 1.16 million students in 2017 to just 400,000 in 2023. TVET institutions now include vocational schools, colleges, and technikums under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation, as well as short-term programs operated by the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction. Recent efforts have introduced a National Qualifications Framework, established Sector Skills Councils, and launched dual education programs modeled on Germany’s apprenticeship system.

Despite these efforts, major challenges remain. Governance structures are fragmented, and employer engagement in curriculum design is weak. Just 3.8% of the education budget goes to TVET, even though vocational training often requires more resources than general education. Teaching quality is another concern: many instructors lack industry experience, and participation in continuing professional development is uneven. Data management systems are outdated, and quality assurance tends to focus more on compliance than on learning outcomes or employment rates. The report notes that institutions often lack clarity on their autonomy and decision-making powers, and many do not consistently assess local labor market demand before launching or discontinuing programs.

Migration: A Lifeline for Families, a Challenge for the System

Labor migration is both a socio-economic lifeline and a source of structural tension in Uzbekistan’s workforce development model. In 2023, over 2 million Uzbeks were employed abroad, mostly in Russia, Kazakhstan, and South Korea. Remittances accounted for $13.5 billion in national income, 17% of GDP, making them a vital source of support for low-income households. Yet more than 95% of Uzbek migrants are low- or mid-skilled workers, often relegated to low-paying jobs in construction, agriculture, and hospitality. Despite holding secondary or vocational credentials, most migrants lack certification recognized by destination countries, limiting their ability to secure formal or higher-wage employment.

To address this, Uzbekistan has developed a range of support structures, including pre-departure training in language, legal literacy, and professional skills, delivered through over 600 institutions across the country. The government’s online portal “Xorijda Ish” (Jobs Abroad) connects more than two million registered users to job vacancies abroad, with countries like Germany, South Korea, Japan, and the UK emerging as high-value migration destinations. Still, access remains uneven. Language barriers and mismatches between domestic qualifications and host-country standards continue to hold many potential migrants back.

Returnees Bring Potential, But Face Reintegration Hurdles

The number of returning migrants has been rising sharply, especially in the wake of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In 2021 alone, over half a million migrants returned to Uzbekistan, many bringing with them valuable experience and skills. Yet reintegration into the domestic labor market remains difficult. Only about 50% of returnees find stable employment, with the majority absorbed into construction, trade, or informal sectors. A lack of skill certification and targeted support hampers their ability to translate overseas experience into higher-paying domestic roles.

The government has launched several initiatives to address this. These include subsidies for businesses that hire returnees, soft loans for entrepreneurship, and short courses in business startup skills. However, only 15% of TVET institutions currently offer programs specifically tailored to returnees. The report urges the establishment of formal Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) systems and the scaling up of reintegration services, particularly in rural areas where unemployment among returnees is highest.

A New Blueprint: Global Skills and Strategic Partnerships

One of the report’s most forward-looking proposals is for Uzbekistan to adopt the Global Skills Partnership (GSP) model, a bilateral training system that prepares workers in origin countries based on the skill requirements of destination economies. The case of Germany and the Philippines in nursing is offered as a model. Under this system, students undergo specialized training co-designed with foreign employers and universities, enabling them to qualify faster upon arrival and contribute more effectively in both home and host countries. For Uzbekistan, this approach could be transformational in fields like healthcare, IT, and engineering.

To realize such a vision, the report calls for closer ties between TVET institutions and international employers, expanded language and cultural training, and full integration of pre-migration, migration, and post-return phases into a single human capital strategy. This would mean not only preparing young people for life abroad but also ensuring their long-term economic contribution to Uzbekistan upon their return.

Uzbekistan’s path to sustainable growth runs through its people. If it can harness the aspirations of its youth, align training with real-world demands, and treat migration not as a loss but as a strategic asset, the country has a unique opportunity to turn demographic pressure into developmental power, at home and abroad.