Kazakhstan 2023
Key takeaways
VET in Kazakhstan offers broad access to initial vocational education and training (IVET). However, adult participation in VET is lower, and opportunities for lifelong learning beyond VET are more limited. Efforts to improve access include the 'Free Vocational Education and Training' project, which aims for full enrolment of young people by 2025. Other measures include assessments to match learners with suitable career paths, removing admission exams, and recognising skills gained outside of formal education, such as through work experience or informal courses. Both IVET and continuing vocational education and training (CVET) benefit from state support, helping learners graduate successfully.
The VET system of Kazakhstan provides essential skills, such as literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving, and it stands out for its strong links to the labour market. Dual education initiatives, which combine classroom learning with practical work experience, significantly contribute to graduate employability. Employers collaborate on curriculum development; they offer upskilling courses to help workers improve their skills; and they also participate in the National Qualifications System. This involvement ensures that VET stays in line with labour market demands. Despite these strengths, however, challenges in basic skills like reading, writing, and mathematics persist, as reflected in below-average scores in international student assessments such as OECD’s PISA.
National authorities in Kazakhstan see the VET system as effective in managing and coordinating its various components. However, not all stakeholders are as engaged in shaping the policies and direction of VET policies and providers as they could be. Reforms are underway, such as the 2021 Plan for Lifelong Learning, which aims to give stakeholders a bigger role in decisions about how the VET system works. At the same time, Kazakhstan faces challenges in collecting internationally comparable data. Investments were made into a national educational database (NEDB) to improve data management and decision-making. Despite these issues with evidence, quality assurance is strong. Regular monitoring and a solid legal framework support continuous improvement and alignment with international standards.
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.
In response, Kazakhstan launched the 'Free Vocational Education and Training' project as part of the 'Quality Education – Educated Nation' initiative. This project aims to ensure full enrolment of young people in specialist fields by 2025. By expanding access to vocational programmes, such initiatives seek to address staff shortages in high-demand trades. Their popularity is growing, with 180,000 enrolment applications for 128,000 government-funded seats in 2022. This reflects increased interest in the VET programmes, as well as their flexibility.
Both IVET and CVET provide strong support to learners, helping a large share of them successfully complete their VET programmes and obtain qualifications. State incentives and policies ensure that students can stay enrolled even after interruptions. Career guidance and the dual education system help with retention and employment prospects too, as students often secure jobs with companies where they interned.
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.
A major factor in this success is the collaboration between colleges and employers. Colleges have the flexibility to develop curricula with businesses to ensure that training meets market needs. Students spend 60% of their education time gaining hands-on experience, but age restrictions limit access to on-the-job training for those under 18 in certain fields. Qualification exams are also conducted either at employer sites or in well-equipped educational institutions to prepare students.
Kazakhstan is also working to address longer-term challenges such as those necessitating the digital and green transitions. Environmental protection and climate change awareness are now integrated into VET programmes. Additionally, the government’s 'Free Vocational and Technical Education for All' project provides broader access to vocational training, and employers continue to offer courses tailored to current technological demands.
Kazakhstan is promoting excellence across several areas in VET, especially in reaching out to the world of work. However, domains such as teaching and professional development, programme content, and provider governance, are somewhat less in focus of excellence initiatives. The country also fosters innovation, particularly in areas like access and learning quality where it provides strong support for students at risk, including those with special needs. The impact of these innovations on everyday VET performance is yet to be seen, as innovation is often confined to small-scale projects.
VET in Kazakhstan effectively links education with the labour market, thanks to programmes like dual education, which combine classroom learning with practical work experience. VET graduates enjoy strong employment outcomes. However, challenges remain, particularly with the subpar basic skills of younger learners. Adult education is a strong focus, supported by initiatives like the "Free Vocational and Technical Education for All" project, which helps adults upskill and adapt to changing job demands. Kazakhstan is also addressing long-term trends such as the digital and green transitions. While excellence and innovation are priorities, they are often limited to smaller-scale projects.
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.
Kazakhstan's VET system performs well in many areas of education management, though it faces challenges in some of them. For example, involving stakeholders—such as educators, employers, and communities—in decision-making, and securing adequate financial resources are areas in need of attention.
Kazakhstan has effective systems to ensure the quality of VET, with yearly checks to make sure schools and programmes meet national standards. However, adopting a more active and supportive approach—where schools receive ongoing guidance, feedback, and resources to improve—could enhance quality even further. Instead of just ensuring compliance, this approach would focus on helping schools continuously develop. Leadership in VET institutions is strong, with high qualifications required for leaders. This creates conditions for well-managed institutions which, in turn, is a cornerstone of improvement.
However, financial resources remain a challenge. Most funding comes from the state, with recent changes covering key expenses like on-the-job training and equipment. Despite financial constraints, Kazakhstan continues to modernise its VET facilities, equipping 180 institutions with modern training tools between 2020 and 2021.
VET in Kazakhstan performs well but faces challenges in involving stakeholders like educators, employers, and communities in decision-making. Securing sufficient financial resources is a challenge too. The country is working to address these issues through initiatives that aim to bring more voices into educational policy discussions. Investments in the national educational database (NEDB) have improved data management, though the use of this data for policymaking could be better. While regular checks maintain quality in VET, offering more ongoing support to schools could drive further improvement. Despite financial constraints, Kazakhstan remains committed to modernising its VET facilities and continues to provide strong professional development for teachers and trainers.
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 2023 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.