Kazakhstan 2024

Key takeaways

Kazakhstan offers broad access to initial VET (IVET), supported by initiatives like the 'Free Vocational Education and Training' project, targeting universal enrolment of young people by 2025. Access has remained strong since 2023, but adult participation in VET has declined due to reduced employer-driven financial support and gaps in CVET participation, highlighting disparities that disadvantage adults.

Since 2023, accessibility improvements have included removing admission exams, enhancing school career guidance, and recognising non-formal learning outcomes. These measures support adaptability, yet challenges in lifelong learning for adults persist. Graduation remains an area of strength, with performance aided by state incentives and the dual education system, which links learners to employment opportunities. Progression to higher education has improved, though horizontal mobility between general and vocational pathways remains limited.

VET in Kazakhstan continues to align closely with labour market needs through dual education and employer collaboration, supporting graduate employability. Foundational skills like reading and mathematics have shown slight improvement but still lag behind international standards. While infrastructure improvements have expanded access to digital tools, the level of ICT skills among youth and adults remains stagnant. Environmental and industrial safety topics are included in curricula, but green skills education requires greater focus.

Social inclusion and equity are areas of strong performance, with consistent support for vulnerable learners. However, limited progress in pedagogy, programme content, and governance underscores the need for better policies. Innovation in VET is progressing, but this area is dominated by small pilot projects. System-wide initiatives remain quite rare.

System management has faced challenges since 2023, including declines in the adequacy of the infrastructure for teaching and learning, funding, and human resource capacity. Despite these setbacks, Kazakhstan has a strong quality assurance system, supported by systematic monitoring and an updated legal framework. Investments in the national educational database (NEDB) have improved data availability, while modernising VET facilities and equipment has reduced material shortages. However, declining teacher certification rates and staff shortages remain an area of concern.

Access to learning

Monitoring in the area of access to and participation to learning helps countries assess the extent to which initial VET, continuing VET and other learning opportunities are accessible and attractive to all learners, regardless of their individual backgrounds or reasons for participating. The data also reflects how well learners can expect to progress through and graduate from these learning opportunities.

Opportunities for lifelong learning: access and participation

Kazakhstan faces significant challenges in ensuring equal access to vocational education and training (VET) across age groups, particularly for adults. While the VET system remains strong in offering access to initial VET (IVET) programmes for young people, participation in continuing VET (CVET) has declined since 2023. Opportunities for adults to engage in lifelong learning beyond VET have also diminished, with a 4-point drop in the System Performance Indicator (SPI) for access to lifelong learning. This decline is closely tied to a reduction in employer-driven financial support for education and training, which decreased from 23% to 18% of individuals benefiting from such programmes. The reduced investment by employers limits opportunities for workforce upskilling and retraining for adults.

In response, Kazakhstan introduced the 'Free Vocational Education and Training' project under the 'Quality Education – Educated Nation' initiative. This project, aiming for 100% enrolment of young people in specialised fields by 2025, has significantly expanded access to VET programmes. It addresses critical staff shortages in high-demand trades and has attracted substantial interest, with 180,000 applications for 128,000 government-funded places in 2022. The provision of free tuition has been particularly impactful for ISCED level 5 programmes, which prepare students for both employment and further education. Despite these efforts, ensuring effective support for lifelong learning among adults remains a pressing challenge.

Once enrolled, students in Kazakhstan have the opportunity to progress to higher levels of education if they successfully graduate. This strong vertical mobility within the education system has improved in international comparisons since 2023. However, horizontal mobility, which refers to the ability to transition between general and vocational education pathways, remains limited. Authorities have taken steps to address this by introducing professional diagnostics to help students choose specialisations, removing admission exams, and improving the recognition of non-formal learning outcomes to make transitions easier. Despite these efforts, the practical implementation of these measures is still incomplete.

IVET and continuing VET (CVET) both achieve high graduation rates. State mechanisms ensure that students can return to their studies after interruptions, and career guidance for school students helps reduce the likelihood of dropouts. The dual education system connects students directly to employment opportunities through internships with partner companies. However, the decline in employer support for CVET since 2023 reveals broader challenges in maintaining lifelong learning opportunities for adults. Further reforms are needed to reduce these disparities and to ensure the system responds effectively to new demands, such as the development of digital skills and green education initiatives.

Kazakhstan’s VET system provides broad access to IVET for young people but faces challenges in lifelong learning and adult participation. Since 2023, CVET enrolment has declined, partly due to reduced employer funding for training. In response, the ‘Free Vocational Education and Training’ project has expanded IVET access to address staff shortages in key trades. While vertical mobility within education has improved, transitions between general and vocational education remain limited. High graduation rates and dual education enhance employment prospects, yet declining employer support for CVET restricts opportunities for workforce upskilling and retraining. Further reforms are needed to expand adult learning, particularly in digital skills and green education, and to improve accessibility for all age groups.

The Torino Process is a regular review of national systems of vocational education and training as well as adult education. It is designed to analyse the ways in which national VET systems (including adult education) address the challenges of human capital development in a lifelong learning perspective. It was established by the European Training Foundation (ETF) in 2010 and has been carried out in partner countries in Southeastern Europe, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean ever since.

Monitoring in the context of the Torino Process describes the extent to which countries deliver on their commitments to learners in support of their learning through life (lifelong learning - LLL) in three major areas of policy and system performance: access to learning, quality of learning, and system organisation.

Quality of learning

Quality and relevance of learning is the area of monitoring that identifies how successfully the VET system provides basic skills and key competences to both young and adult learners. It highlights the relevance of VET programmes to the world of work and how effectively VET graduates transition into the labour market. Additionally, it monitors efforts to promote excellence across key domains, including pedagogy, professional development, programme content, governance, and social inclusion, as well as the openness of the VET system to innovation in response to the evolving needs of learners and labour markets.

Lifelong learning outcomes: quality and relevance, excellence and innovation

Initial vocational education and training (VET) in Kazakhstan provides a moderate level of foundational skills, including literacy and numeracy. Although these outcomes surpass those of some other countries participating in the Torino Process, challenges in basic education remain. Between 2023 and 2024, the country achieved progress in reducing the proportion of underachieving 15-year-olds. The share of students with low performance in reading fell from 67% to 63%, in mathematics from 53% to 49%, and in science from 63% to 45%. The VET system continues to perform well in aligning education with labour market needs, largely due to dual education initiatives. These programmes integrate classroom learning with practical work experience and have increased the employment rate of VET graduates by 9% over the past four years.

Collaboration between colleges and employers plays a key role in this success. Colleges retain academic freedom to work with businesses in designing curricula that meet market demands. Students spend 60% of their educational time gaining practical experience. However, age restrictions prevent individuals under 18 from accessing on-the-job training in certain fields. Qualification exams are conducted at employer sites or well-equipped educational institutions to ensure graduates meet workforce requirements. Recent reforms have improved the recognition of professional qualifications, creating pathways for skills acquired through formal, non-formal, and informal education.

Adults in Kazakhstan generally demonstrate higher-quality skills and competences compared to younger learners. The skills gap between adults in Kazakhstan and the average of other Torino Process countries remains relatively small. Initiatives such as the "Free Vocational and Technical Education for All" project and the "Еңбек" programme continue to provide adults with opportunities for vocational training and upskilling. Since 2023, these programmes have expanded their focus to meet growing demands for digital and green skills. Despite these efforts, challenges persist. For example, the computer-to-student ratio has worsened, increasing from 86 to 106, which reflects reduced availability of digital tools for learners.

Kazakhstan is addressing longer-term challenges related to the digital and green transitions. While digital performance has declined slightly since 2023, with ICT skill levels dropping from 25% to 24%, environmental awareness and industrial safety remain integrated into VET curricula. Climate change and green skills are taught as part of both general and vocational education, ensuring students acquire the necessary knowledge to meet future labour market demands. These efforts align with broader initiatives to make VET more responsive to emerging themes.

Kazakhstan continues to promote excellence across several areas in VET, particularly in connecting with the labour market. However, domains such as teaching quality, programme content, and governance remain less emphasised in excellence initiatives. Innovation efforts, especially in areas like access and learning quality, are evident in targeted projects for at-risk students, including those with special needs. While these projects highlight a commitment to addressing equity and inclusion, their impact on overall system performance remains limited. More comprehensive, system-wide approaches are needed to sustain and expand these gains.

Kazakhstan’s VET system is addressing long-term challenges in the digital and green transitions. Digital performance has slightly declined since 2023 as ICT skill levels fell from 25% to 24%. However, environmental awareness and industrial safety have been incorporated into curricula, helping students gain essential green skills for the labour market. The system remains strong in linking VET to employment but places less focus on improving teaching quality, programme content, and governance. Targeted innovation projects for at-risk students demonstrate progress in equity and inclusion, yet these efforts remain limited in scale. Broader initiatives are necessary to ensure sustainable improvements in access, learning quality, and responsiveness to emerging demands.

System organisation

System organisation is the area of monitoring that captures performance across various domains of management and administration. It examines whether practitioners and leaders have access to data and evidence to support informed decision-making, the level of stakeholder involvement in VET governance, the quality and capacity of staff in leadership positions, and the degree of internationalisation. Additionally, monitoring the allocation of human and financial resources to the VET system helps assess whether these resources effectively support teaching, training, and learning.

System organisation: management and resourcing

Kazakhstan's VET system performs well in many areas of system management, though challenges persist in others. Since 2023, significant declines have been observed in infrastructure, funding, and human resources. The proportion of fully certified teachers fell from 74% to 52%, raising concerns about teacher qualifications and retention. Stakeholder engagement in decision-making remains an area needing improvement, although participatory governance saw modest relative progress in international comparisons due to declines elsewhere.

To address these gaps, Kazakhstan has adopted the Lifelong Learning (LLL) concept, aiming to involve more stakeholders in educational policy. Investments in the national educational database (NEDB) have strengthened data management, though the country lags behind others in data availability and international comparability. Resource allocation has improved, with school principals reporting fewer material shortages, but using this data effectively for policymaking remains a challenge.

The country maintains effective systems for ensuring the quality of VET, with annual evaluations monitoring compliance with national standards. However, internal and external evaluations declined slightly between 2023 and 2024. Adopting a more supportive approach that offers guidance and feedback to schools could further enhance quality. Leadership in VET institutions remains a strong point due to high qualification standards, although the professional capacity of leaders has declined in international comparisons, partly because of stagnation as other countries advance.

Kazakhstan has expanded its international engagement through initiatives like WorldSkills competitions and collaboration with Germany’s Senior Expert Service. Participation in the WorldSkills movement reflects a commitment to international standards in vocational training. Training and certification of WorldSkills experts, along with demonstration exams aligned with these standards, continue to strengthen the system.

Financial challenges remain a concern, with the VET system heavily reliant on state funding. Recent reforms have updated resource allocation methods, and modernisation efforts have equipped 180 institutions with new training tools between 2020 and 2021. These measures have reduced material shortages and improved infrastructure but rising staff shortages and financial constraints require sustained investment to maintain progress.

Kazakhstan’s VET system demonstrates strengths in education management and quality assurance but faces challenges in infrastructure, funding, and human resources. Teacher certification rates dropped significantly from 74% to 52% since 2023, and data availability has not improved as quickly as in other countries. Despite these setbacks, participatory governance has seen modest relative progress. Efforts like the Lifelong Learning concept and investments in the national educational database aim to enhance stakeholder engagement and policymaking. International initiatives, such as WorldSkills competitions and collaboration with foreign experts, reflect a commitment to global standards. Facility modernisation has equipped 180 institutions with new tools, reducing material shortages, yet financial constraints and staffing shortages highlight the need for sustained investment to support long-term improvements.

Promoting access and participation in opportunities for lifelong learning

Supporting quality and relevance of lifelong learning

Index of system performance

International comparability of performance results

In addition to messages about system performance, the Torino Process monitoring delivers information about the international comparability of results of each country, the extent to which these results may be susceptible to bias, and how self-critical a country is when it reports about its policy and system performance for external monitoring purposes. This is possible because the monitoring methodology foresees keeping accurate records about the availability, origin and type of evidence used to calculate the monitoring results for each country, including Kazakhstan.

In the 2024 Torino Process monitoring, Kazakhstan ranks above many countries for the international comparability of its data. The country has spent over a decade improving its ability to collect and use such data and participate in international surveys. This contributes to its strong results in this area. While evidence is not always available where most needed, Kazakhstan faces fewer challenges with accessing internationally comparable data than many other countries. However, the country also tends to be less critical when assessing the performance of its VET system than all other countries in the 2023 monitoring round.