The concept of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) means, "Not students, do not work and are not improving qualifications." Given the importance of the issue, a comprehensive survey of NEET youth issues was conducted. The Ministry of Social Development carried out the work on the adoption of the Roadmap for the Employment and Socialization of NEET Youth at the age of 18-29, including 2018 graduates.

As reported by the Minister of Public Development Darkhan Kaletayev, in the western practice the NEET assumes an element of voluntary exclusion of youth from the labor market and education. For example, as in Japan. There is an antisocial behavior, an attempt to "escape" from a rapidly urbanizing world. Young people seek to find their own identity and do not always find themselves in a functioning social structure. Hence, such problems as suicidal, deviation, deep social alienation arise. The values of the family start to blur.

"In the report of the International Labor Organization for 2017 it is noted that for 20 years the number of young people in the world has increased by 139 million people, and the share in employment has decreased by 35 million people," Kaletayev said, noting that the situation with youth and its mood affect the overall lack of employment.

At the same time, according to the minister of social development, in Kazakhstan youth employment is progressing. The proportion of young people aged 14-29 who are not socialized decreased from 18.6% in 2001 to 7.7% in the second quarter of 2018. However, there are issues that require additional attention.

The NEET Youth Employment and Socialization Roadmap provides activities to reach the population of seven categories: dependents, young women, freelancers, rural youth, people with disabilities, people from low-income families and asocial youth groups (released from prison with drug and alcohol dependence, undergoing rehabilitation). It is planned to cover young people of three age groups: the younger age group (18-22), the average age group (22-24), the older age group (25-29).

The roadmap assumes an integrated approach to working with NEET youth:

1. Professional orientation: the creation of advisory centers for young people to choose a profession; conducting functional reviews for orientation in prospective professions in the future.

2. Promotion of technical and vocational education: improving the effectiveness of dual training; the creation of competence centers in colleges, taking into account the training of engineering personnel.

3. Raising awareness of youth about measures of state support and development: forming a map of demand and proposals on the youth labor market; continuation of the job fair practice; carrying out information campaigns and public hearings.

4. Development of youth entrepreneurship: introduction of state grant funding for youth projects when providing a business plan.

5. Military-patriotic education.

6. Improving the activities of youth resource centers.

7. Solving the housing issue: the creation of youth housing cooperatives; scaling of Almaty's experience in creating regional housing programs.

8. Adaptation of state procurement and grant financing instruments: special attention to support of young single mothers to prevent abandonment of children.

9. Improvement of methodology and legislation: to consider the possibility of normative and legal consolidation of the concept of NEET in labor legislation; conducting targeted studies on NEET youth; organization of a system of accounting for such youth within the Labor market; conducting diagnostic and monitoring social surveys to identify the main social characteristics of NEET young people.

10. Healthy lifestyle: planning workout sites in the places of probable congestion of youth.

"In this case, we can help reduce the social alienation of the younger generation, based on the spirit and strength of the Ruhani Zhangyru program," Kaletayev summed up.

In his turn, the Minister of Education and Science Yerlan Sagadiyev reported that the country has seen a decrease in the unemployment rate among young people.

"Compared to 2015, the level of youth unemployment has decreased from 4.2% to 3.8% in 2017 due to the implementation of programs and social projects such as the Employment Road Map 2020, Zhasyl El, With a Diploma – to the Village! Youth Practice, Mangilik El Zhastary – Industriaga! (Serpin) and others," Sagadiyev said.

According to the Ministry of Education and Science, in recent years the quality of training has improved and, accordingly, the employment indicator of graduates has increased. In 2017, compared with 2012, the employment rate of college graduates increased by 12.6%. At the same time, over the past decade there has been a positive trend toward a decrease in the number of self-employed youth. In the draft Roadmap of 30 events, the Ministry of Education and Science is a co-executor of 14 events, including promotion of technical and vocational education.

"Since 2014 the Serpin project is being implemented. Currently, within the framework of the Project, 12,344 people study in 26 universities in 9 regions, and in 37 vocational education institutions in 7 regions, 2,276 people study. In general, this project is of great interest to young people, especially from families with low social status, and can become a real social elevator for their professional self-realization," Sagadiyev reported.

It is worth noting that the graduates' work within the framework of the Project is carried out in accordance with the tripartite agreement on the employment of the graduate between the education organization, the employer and the trainees. Along with this, since September 2017 a free technical and vocational education for all project has been implemented, in which everyone can get a free profession. Within the framework of this project, the proportion of students studying under the state order has been increased to 54%, which has allowed to stop the negative trend of annual reduction in the number of colleges. Work is also intensifying to introduce dual training: this system is implemented in 460 colleges with the participation of 3,055 enterprises with a coverage of 31,000 students.

Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Madina Abylkassymova in her report noted that by the end of the second quarter 2018, the unemployment rate among young people was 3.8% or 82,400 people. This is below the level of unemployment in the republic.

"The total number of employed young people is 2.1 million people. 1.5 million employed youth are wage earners, 456,000 are self-employed. 36% of young people have higher education, and 39% have secondary education, while 25% of young people have basic, secondary education," Abylkassymova informed.

According to her, in the country annually more than 21,000 people are trained in technical and working specialties, about 38,000 young people have already been trained.

Akims of the West Kazakhstan region A. Kulginov, Karaganda region — Y. Koshanov, Deputy Akim of Mangistau region S. Amangaliyev reported on the situation in the regions.