The Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is consistently implementing the project “Development of Vocational Training Opportunities in Uzbekistan”.

The Vocational Training Center, established within the framework of the project in Samarkand, retrains unemployed young people based on referrals by district and city employment centers.

“The center trains and retrains unemployed and temporarily unemployed people, including those who have graduated from professional colleges and academic lyceums and do not have a permanent job”, says Director of Samarkand Vocational Training Center, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Ismail Ergashev. – The training directions include information technology, car repair and maintenance, electronics and instrumentation, welding and plumbing, computer graphics and multimedia systems, mechanical engineering. So far, about 2,000 young people have been trained in these areas and are currently working in enterprises and organizations abroad, and in the country.

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The center has the most modern teaching and laboratory equipment, teaching aids imported from the Republic of Korea.

KOICA has attracted professors and experts from leading universities of the Republic of Korea.

The main criterion for graduates of the center to have their own jobs is that the skills of these graduates can meet the requirements of enterprises. Cooperation has been established with about a hundred organizations such as Samarkand Automobile Plant, MAN-Auto Uzbekistan, UzautoTrailer, EL-HOLDING, Avtotechkhizmat, Stekloplastik, UrGAZ, SET, Temir Metal, Ferre, and higher education institutions in the region.

The partnership has also been established with Korea University of Technology and Education, Keimyung College, Ajou Motor College, Bucheon, and Woosuk Universities. The center is currently implementing a $1.1 million worth of public-private partnership project with KOICA and Keimyung College.

During the pandemic, students attended online classes. The practical training was conducted in partner organizations of the center.

Today, about 300 students are studying in the center.

G.Khasanov, photos by A.Isroilov, UzA