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2026 will be the year of youth training in modern professions — President
In Uzbekistan, 2026 will become the year of training young people in modern professions. This was announced on September 15 during a meeting with teachers and mentors in the Bostanlyk district of the Tashkent region by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, reported by his press secretary Sherzod Asadov.
“We must educate our youth not only in the spirit of modernity, but also prepare them for the future. Never forget: the future belongs to new specialists armed with modern knowledge,” the head of state said.
According to him, investments of $30–35 billion are attracted to the country’s economy every year, new sectors are opening, modern technologies are being introduced, and thousands of enterprises are being launched. As a result, about 250,000–300,000 high-income jobs are created annually.
“These jobs are, first of all, an additional opportunity for employment for our youth. But for this, it is necessary to master modern technologies and foreign languages, and possess professional skills and qualifications,” he noted.
For this purpose, the Agency for Professional Education is being established. The main task of the agency and regional governors is to introduce a new educational environment and international standards in 598 technical colleges.
Within a year, 100 technical colleges will establish cooperation with educational institutions in Germany, Switzerland, China, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and other countries, where advanced vocational education programs will be implemented.
In addition, any candidate with professional skills will be able to take an exam in these technical colleges based on qualification assessment systems of foreign countries and receive an international certificate.
From the new academic year, an international BTEC program has been launched in 14 technical colleges in cooperation with the British company Pearson, enabling young people to master professions in tourism, IT, medicine, construction, logistics, mechanical engineering, energy, biotechnology, and the creative economy.
In 2026, 456 major industrial projects worth nearly $45 billion will be launched. A dual education system based on the principle “investor — industry — technical college” will be introduced in technical colleges.
A competition will be held among technical colleges that have concrete projects with enterprises to create modern workshops. Winners will be provided with modern workshop equipment as well as sports inventory.
Coverage of dual education should increase fivefold, and enterprises will receive concessional loans of up to 5 billion soums. The unified social payment for students will be reduced by half.
Shavkat Mirziyoyev emphasized the importance of learning foreign languages for mastering new technologies and communicating freely with foreign investors. In this regard, the number of hours allocated to foreign languages in technical colleges will be increased fourfold.
From 2026, a digital platform will be launched where employers in Uzbekistan and abroad will be able to see all data on graduates’ professional skills.
In addition, under a new presidential decree, the position of a school counselor will be introduced in schools. From the 7th grade, the counselor will track students’ academic performance and interests and guide them toward technical colleges.
At the same time, 9th-grade graduates will retain the opportunity to return to school. In 2025, about 200,000 graduates of 11th grades who did not enter universities will undergo short-term vocational courses.
“What is the goal of our new initiatives? If we provide every child with a profession and income, there will be prosperity in every family and peace in every neighborhood,” the head of state stated.
To enhance the status of technical college teachers, a professional certification system is being introduced. Teachers will receive bonuses — 30% for a national certificate and 50% for an international one.
Directors and their deputies will earn no less than their school counterparts, and will receive an additional 20% bonus for a managerial certificate from the “School of Directors.”
In addition, bonuses for academic degrees and titles will be introduced in technical colleges. Every year, 500 teachers will be sent for internships to leading foreign educational institutions, and another 500 instructors — to enterprises abroad.
At this meeting, the president also announced that from the new academic year, a unified state exam will be introduced in Uzbekistan for 9th- and 11th-grade students. Based on its results, students will be able to continue their studies either in technical colleges or universities. The head of state had previously noted the low coverage of school graduates by vocational education.
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