Employment - The Times Of Central Asia

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Kazakhstan Actions ‘Lifelong Learning’

On 5 June, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Kazakhstan issued a report on the success of courses delivered by the Skills Enbek vocational training platform. Since the beginning of 2024, 53.5 thousand citizens, including 27.2 thousand unemployed, have completed online courses conducted by Skills Enbek and a total of 427.2 thousand Kazakhs are now registered on the platform. Of the 27.2 thousand unemployed who have completed their training, around 8 thousand are youths based mainly in the regions of Aktobe, Turkestan, Kyzylorda, and Zhambyl regions, and the city of Shymkent. The platform offers 490 wide-ranging courses, lasting between 1-72 hours. The most popular courses last May, included: “Organizing a sales department in a hotel”, “Salesperson”, “Insurance agent”, “Individual assistant to accompany people with limited mobility,” and “Fundamentals of social entrepreneurship”. At present, 254 of the courses are free and the platform now plans to waive charges for training in various sectors including accommodation, food, construction, housing and communal services, social services, finance and accounting, and information technology. By expanding levels of education and professionalism in the country's population, the platform aims to both stimulate career development and promote the concept of “lifelong learning.”

International investment Energy Employment Oil and Gas

Green Light for Hydrocarbon Development in Kazakhstan’s Caspian Sea Sector

In a statement issued on 4 June, Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Energy announced that work on an oil and gas project to develop the Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar fields is now ready to begin. The Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar Fields Joint Development Project will be implemented by Kalamkas-Khazar Operating, a specially created venture comprising Kazakhstan’s national oil and gas company KazMunayGas (50%) and Russian oil company Lukoil (50%). Construction of the steel offshore platforms will begin in 2026 at Kazakh shipyards to ensure the earliest possible start of production at the Kalamkas-Sea field. The project aims to attract over $6 billion in direct investment and during its development phase, create up to 2,000 jobs. Once in operation, a further 300 posts will be added. The Kalamkas-Sea field, 50km long and 6km wide, sits in the central part of the north-eastern sector of the Caspian Sea, 64 km offshore at a depth of 6-7 meters. The Khazar field is located 30 km southwest of Kalamkas-Sea and 65 km northwest of the Buzachi Peninsula. The Kalamkas-Sea and Khazar fields are the only fields in the Kazakhstan sector of the Caspian Sea with confirmed reserves.

Tourism Healthcare Employment

Uzbekistan Set to Maximize Tourism

On 3 June, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a government meeting to review plans for the forthcoming year to attract 11 million foreign tourists and increase revenue from tourism to $2.5 billion. It was stated that every dollar currently invested in tourism generates 3-4 dollars for the industry’s future and each new job created in the tourism sector spawns two jobs in related industries. Officials reported that to encourage growth, procedures for running tourism businesses have been simplified and specialized policing created to ensure the safety of tourists. Given the year-on-year increase in extreme tourism, Uzbekistan is developing a program to meet demand for access to its wilder regions. To expand tourism around the country’s natural lakes, a decision was made to auction land for the construction of water parks and other attractions around these scenic shores. Triggered by the pandemic, the demand for medical and recreational tourism has soared and last year alone, over 60 thousand foreign visitors were treated in Uzbekistan’s sanatoriums and medical institutions. In response and based on practices in South Korea, Turkey, and India, the government has launched a “Medical Hospitality” initiative. From now on, costs incurred by private clinics for international certification and participation in overseas exhibitions to promote their services, will be covered by the state. In addition, VAT will be refunded on payments made by foreign patients attending Uzbekistan’s clinics. To maximize its potential, the president recommended the launch of a global advertising campaign to demonstrate to the full, the diversity of Uzbekistan’s tourist industry.

solar power Green Energy Foreign Investment Manufacturing Employment Tourism

Construction of Gas Chemical Complex, Solar Plant and Airport begins in Bukhara

On May 31, construction began on three large facilities in Uzbekistan’s Bukhara region. Officially launched by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the ambitious development comprises a gas chemical complex, a solar power plant, and an international airport. The gas chemical complex, to be built in the Karakul free economic zone, is the first plant in the country to employ methanol- to- olefins (MTO) technology. The project aims to attract some $5 billion in investments and advanced technologies from the USA, Germany, Denmark, Austria, Italy, and China. Once completed, the complex will process 1.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 430 thousand tons of naphtha per year and manufacture 1.1 million tons of polymer products, in high demand by both domestic and global markets. Two thousand new jobs will be created. The second facility, a 250-megawatt solar power plant to be built by Masdar from the United Arab Emirates, will be connected to the unified energy grid in December 2025. The third initiative is a new international airport which will be much welcomed by the ever-increasing volume of foreign tourists visiting Uzbekistan. In 2023 alone, some 1.4 million tourists flew into Bukhara. Built through private partnership at a cost of $226 million, the airport will have the capacity to process 1.2 thousand passengers per hour. Designed to meet international standards, the airport will both improve the quality of service and help attract more international airlines to Bukhara.

Green Energy Solar Energy Employment Industry

Korean Company to Build Solar Panel Production Plant in Tajikistan

On 24 May, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon laid the foundation stone for the construction of the first solar panel production plant in the country’s Danghara Free Economic Zone. According to the Tajik president’s press service, the facility will be built in four phases with government support and investment by the Global Solar Wafer company of the Republic of Korea totalling $2 billion. Construction on 22 hectares of land in the western part of Danghara Free Economic Zone is scheduled to begin in July this year. The first phase, comprising a facility to manufacture solar panels with a capacity of 5 thousand megawatts, will be completed in March 2025. Once fully operational, the plant will provide 8,000 jobs, 95 percent will be allocated to Tajik citizens. The launch of the domestic production of solar panels will contribute to the realization of goals set by Tajikistan’s green economy development strategy which aims to generate at least 1000 megawatts of green energy by 2030.

Gender-Gap Women's rights Employment Social Economy

Men in Kazakhstan Paid Almost One-Third More than Women

In Kazakhstan, men are paid 27% higher salaries than women in similar positions, as reported in a study conducted by analysts, Finprom.kz. The authors state that in a regional context, the largest gap in 2023 was observed in the Atyrau region: 85.8% (in 2022 - 77.2%), followed by Mangistau and Ulytau: 72.8% and 52.4%, respectively. The smallest gap was noted in the Zhambyl Oblast: 1,8%. "Only in two out of 20 regions of the RK women on average received more than men. Thus, in Zhetysu region men earned 6.1% less, in Turkestan region 0.8% less than women. By way of comparison: in 2022, the average monthly nominal salary of women was higher than men in five of the 18 regions of the country at that time," the analysts stated. The analysts noted that the largest gap was observed in the field of information and communication: 36.5% in favor of men, followed by the spheres of art, entertainment and recreation (36.1%), construction (28.5%), healthcare and social services (24.1%), transportation and warehousing (23.4%). "Only women working as farmers and workers in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and fishing received more than men: the gap in favor of women was 7.6%," the analysts concluded.