Kazakhstan to drop 41 vocational qualifications from college training

September 8, 2026 at 10:18 AM2 min

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Kazakhstan plans to remove 41 vocational qualifications from technical and professional education programs, Education Minister Zhuldyz Suleimenova said at a government meeting. The change responds to labor market shifts, with 125 professions classified as disappearing and over 200 as new. The ministry also forecasts annual demand for 225,000–256,000 workers by 2030.

Key Facts

Kazakhstan plans to exclude 41 vocational qualifications from college training, including blast furnace operator, refractory molder, cold rolling mill operator, salt production operator, potter, raw mill operator, and leather roller.
The Ministry of Education forecasts annual demand for 225,000–256,000 workers by 2030, with over 70% of the most in-demand professions belonging to technical and professional education.
By 2035, workforce demand is estimated at 183,000 in industry, 102,000 in construction, 73,000 in agriculture, and 12,000 in IT.
Kazakhstan has 763 colleges — 435 state and 328 private — with 556,200 students enrolled.
The Ministry of Labor plans to expand the list of in-demand professions from 51 to 174, including engineering, construction, manufacturing, biotechnology, green energy, and nuclear energy.

Qualification Cuts

Education Minister Zhuldyz Suleimenova announced at a government meeting that 41 vocational qualifications are planned for exclusion from technical and professional education programs. The list includes blast furnace operator, refractory molder, cold rolling mill operator, salt production operator, potter, raw mill operator, and leather roller. The ministry attributes the changes to labor market transformation, with 125 professions classified as disappearing, over 200 as new, and about 100 as transforming. Suleimenova said training currently covers 188 specialties and 352 vocational qualifications, with 14,494 educational programs in the registry. The ministry has already excluded 66 educational programs that do not meet labor market requirements.

Labor Demand Forecast

The Ministry of Education projects annual demand for 225,000–256,000 workers by 2030, with over 70% of the most in-demand professions in technical and professional education. By 2035, workforce demand is estimated at 183,000 in industry, 102,000 in construction, 73,000 in agriculture, and 12,000 in IT. The highest demand for 2025–2030 is forecast in Almaty (35,600), Zhetysu region (33,300), Kyzylorda region (28,100), Kostanay region (24,200), and Astana (23,900). The ministry highlighted a mismatch: construction trains 22,400 students against a projected need of 102,000, while agriculture trains 12,700 against a need of 73,000. Minister of Labor Askar Yertayev said total workforce demand through 2035 will reach 2.9 million, including 1.8 million for working professions.

College System Expansion

Kazakhstan operates 763 colleges — 435 state and 328 private — with 556,200 students enrolled. Training for working qualifications is conducted in 480 colleges with over 131,000 students, 79% of whom entered after 9th grade. Admission to working qualifications rose to 57,000 students in the current academic year, and graduate employment reached 79% for tailors and 77% for cooks. The government plans to build 13 new colleges with 20,000 student places across 11 regions. Local executive bodies and employers are renovating 174 colleges, while 13 institutions receive support from subsoil users; 143 state colleges still need material and technical upgrades.