Promoting professional education and vocational training for growth sectors in Central Asia
Project description
Title: Professional Education for Economic Growth Sectors in Central Asia (PECA)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Lead executing agencies: Ministries of Education and Science in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialised Education in Uzbekistan
Overall term: 2021 to 2025
Context
With almost 30 per cent of the labour force in Central Asia employed in agriculture, food processing is an important growth sector: foodstuffs are among the product groups with the highest export growth rates.
The demand for trained young people is correspondingly high – both in food processing and in related logistics sectors such as the procurement of raw materials, warehousing and distribution. Beyond this, there is also a high demand for qualified technical and managerial personnel throughout the logistics sector in the region.
Objective
The professional education systems in Central Asia train specialists and managers for the food processing industry and logistics sector.
Approach
The project promotes modern professional education and vocational training for the food processing industry and logistics sector. To this end, it is introducing international quality standards, involving business in the process and establishing dual vocational training approaches. The project’s two-prong approach involves providing support with educational reforms and advising the relevant ministries on their development, while also creating new training courses.
The project supports cross-border cooperation to modernise and harmonise education systems in Central Asia: regional forums allow participants to share their experiences at national-level with educational reforms and dual education programmes. This promotes mutual learning across national borders.
The project also works with vocational and higher education institutions as well as professional associations to offer courses for the food processing industry and logistics sector. Together with the professional associations, the project develops training courses for workers with little training on topics such as food safety or on issues relating to the storage and distribution of goods. The partners also develop in-service training courses for specialists and managers, for example on green technologies in food production or on green logistics.
Last update: August 2022