Youth employment issues discussed

Youth employment issues discussed

On February 23, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting on ensuring youth employment.

Youth is a priority in the strong social policy of the state. Constant attention is paid to the quality education of young people, their acquisition of professions, and support of their initiatives. In each mahalla, the “Youth Employment Program” is implemented, the “Olympiad of Five Initiatives”, “Caravan of Culture” and various festivals are held.

On February 21 this year, by the decree of the President, the State Program for the implementation of the Uzbekistan – 2030 Strategy in the Year of Support for Youth and Business was approved. It defines several tasks to solve the problems of young people and realize their potential, ensuring employment through training in in-demand professions.

In particular, this year, it is necessary to employ 925 thousand boys and girls. In addition, 300 thousand young people will graduate from colleges, technical schools, and higher education institutions.

Issues of employment, training young people in modern professions, and attracting them to entrepreneurship were discussed at the meeting.

It was noted that additional opportunities for youth business would be created. At least 40 percent of loans allocated under the family entrepreneurship program will be used for these purposes. “Young Entrepreneur” competitions will be held, and the winners with the best business projects and ideas will be sent abroad to improve their skills.

Responsible officials informed about plans to employ 100 thousand young people in new industrial projects, 150 thousand in the service sector, and 200 thousand through the legalization of jobs and self-employment.

Digital technology is currently a promising area for young people. Therefore, the state program provides for implementing the project “Two programmers from each mahalla”. In addition, it is planned to employ 70 thousand young people in information technology.

It was noted that it is necessary to identify capable boys and girls, help them study IT specialties and foreign languages, and the hokims were given appropriate instructions.

Through the “Ibrat Farzandlari” project of the Youth Agency, one million children will be taught foreign languages free of charge. Unused premises in schools will be provided for free rent to foreign language tutors and training centers. 100 private education centers in rural areas with high student achievement will receive reimbursement of rental costs for up to 6 months.

Young people studying in private courses and receiving a C1 level certificate will be reimbursed for their training costs, and for obtaining a B2 level certificate in German, French, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese, the costs of obtaining the certificate will be reimbursed. Another innovation is that the cost of taking the certificate exam and six months of tuition fees will be covered.

As part of the “Ustoz” project, 250 thousand young people will be trained in 30 modern professions, such as marketing, advertising, e-commerce, and IT design.

In agriculture, there are ample opportunities to employ the population. In recent years, for this purpose, 200 thousand hectares of land released from cotton and grain crops have been distributed among the population for farming. This year, it is planned to allocate another 60 thousand 500 hectares of land to young people.

It was noted that a new procedure will be applied to distribute land effectively. Thus, district hokims will allocate plots in places with good water supply. The “mahalla of seven” will propose how much land to allocate to each young person. The young people who received the land will be trained in growing high-yield export crops at the Agrobank Farmers School. For the purchase of mini-equipment, seeds, and seedlings, subsidies will be allocated from the Youth Notebook Fund and the Farmers Fund. Young farmers will cooperate with exporters and processing enterprises. In addition, loans of up to 2 billion UZS will be provided to fruit and vegetable cooperatives.

The implementation of the Decree of the President of Uzbekistan “On additional measures to improve the procedure for leasing agricultural land plots” of January 18 this year was reviewed at the meeting. The decree stipulates that 15,626 hectares of agricultural land in 156 districts will be put up for online auction.

The Head of state emphasized the importance of allocating these lands to places close to populated areas, with good water supply and fertility, for growing export-oriented crops based on cooperation. The hokims were tasked with expanding the work on land development and creating jobs on their basis.

At the meeting, reports from persons responsible for the issues discussed were heard.