European Union

ASTANA – On 27 September, 2010, the European Training Foundation (ETF), a EU specialized agency based in Torino, and the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan held a one day Seminar dedicated to the review of Kazakhstan's Vocational Education System carried out by the European Training Foundation and Kazakh authorities.

More than thirty participants represented by all Vocational Education stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education, employers, vocational education school directors and international development partners discussed the current state and challenges of the Vocational Education system in Kazakhstan and formulated recommendations for future steps to take.

The Director of the ETF , Mrs Madlen Serban, and Bolat Abdrasilov, the Executive Secretary of the Ministry, declared their intentions for continuous fruitful cooperation. A Protocol of Cooperation between the ETF and the Ministry is expected to be signed during the official visit of H.E. Mr. Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan, to Brussels on 26 October 2010.

"Modernizing the vocational education and training system, which basically means improving the qualifications of the labour force, is an important step on the way to accelerate the industrialisation of the national economy, a strategy fully supported by the European Union." stated H.E. Norbert Jousten, Ambassador, Head of EU Delegation to Kazakhstan, during the workshop.

The European Union has been actively cooperating with the Government of Kazakhstan in the education sector for several years, and the European Union recently allocated 4 million Euros for a new long-term Cooperation programme with the Ministry of Education and Science aimed at modernizing the vocational education and training system in Kazakhstan.

For further information please contact Ms. Karla Jamankulova, Press and Information Officer, the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan at +7 717 297 11 48 or karlygash.jamankulova@ec.europa.eu