Following an invitation from the Uzbek First Deputy Minister of Higher and Secondary Specialised Vocational Education, ETF Director Madlen Serban visited Uzbekistan on 18-22 September 2011.

Ms Serban met with Abdulla Aripov, Deputy Prime Minister and discussed the current status of vocational education and training (VET) reforms and future needs in this area.

Ms Serban also held meetings with Norov Imamovich, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jahongir Ismailov; First Deputy Minister of Higher and Secondary Specialised Vocational Education; and Batir Alimukhamedov, First Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection, as well as with Alisher Saykov, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan.

During her visit Ms Serban attended a seminar on national qualifications frameworks and international cooperation. The seminar, organised by the ETF, took place at the Turin Polytechnic University Tashkent, a joint education establishment of the Uzbek government and Italy’s Turin Polytechnic.

The participants, among them several donors active in the field of VET in Uzbekistan, recognised that further development of an Uzbek national qualifications framework should be regarded as a priority.

Qualifications frameworks have the potential to support the modernisation of the education and training system. They can also guide the evolution of qualifications in line with the new requirements of the labour market and strengthen confidence in Uzbek qualifications in the country and abroad.

In addition to the initiative on the national qualifications framework, in 2012, the Uzbek authorities, with the support of the ETF, agreed to bring the Torino Process study on the status of VET reforms up to date.

‘The visit of the ETF Director to Uzbekistan was an excellent opportunity to promote ETF-Uzbekistan cooperation further,’ said Outi Kärkkäinen, an ETF expert responsible for managing relations with Uzbekistan.

On the photo from left: Outi Kärkkäinen, ETF country manager for Uzbekistan; Madlen Serban, ETF Director; Abdulla Aripov, Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan; Jean-Marc Castejon, ETF expert; Jahongir Ismailov, First Deputy Minister of Higher and Secondary Specialised Vocational Education.