Youth policy needs modernization, Senate Speaker says

Youth policy in Kazakhstan requires serious modernization, Chairman of the Senate Maulen Ashimbayev said during the parliamentary hearings. He highlighted several pressing socio-economic issues that are requiring urgent, systemic and comprehensive solutions. One of such problems is the employment of graduates in the field they majored in university. The official youth unemployment rate is relatively low, but alternative studies by independent organizations show different data.

“Almost 12 percent of respondents in the 25 to 29 age group do not have a permanent job yet. More than 40 percent of young Kazakh citizens with higher education are not working in the field of their study. Thus, the issue stands about the effectiveness of the use of budget funds annually allocated to create jobs and youth internship programs. Youth unemployment is exacerbated by imbalances in regional development, as well as spontaneous migration from villages to cities,” Ashimbayev said.

Translation by Assem Zhanmukhanova

Editing by Galiya Khassenkhanova