According to the data of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, in order to increase the effectiveness of existing instruments and supplement with new measures, the program envisages amendments. The main goal of the state program is to improve the skills of labor resources, develop mass entrepreneurship and involve self-employed and unemployed people in productive employment.

As reported by the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Madina Abylkassymova, in 2018, 112.9 billion tenge was allocated for the implementation of the program, by the end of 2018 it is planned to cover 571 thousand citizens with employment promotion measures.

“Following the results of 10 months 2018, 82.5 billion tenge was mastered. As of October 2018, the implementation of the current program has allowed covering more than 563 thousand citizens or 99% of the plan for the year with measures to promote employment. Of these, 458 thousand people were employed, including 327 thousand people or 71% found permanent jobs,” said Minister Abylkassymova.

In the first direction of the program “massive training in qualifications and skills in demand on the labor market,” within the framework of free technical and vocational training, from September 1, 20,000 young people started to study, which is 99% of the plan for the year. According to Abylkassymova, as of October 2018, about 40 thousand program participants started short-term vocational training, which is 107% of the annual plan. Thus, in the republic as a whole, 18 thousand people who completed short-term vocational training were employed.

At the same time, Abylkassymova reported that, given the practical implementation of the first direction, the draft state program provides for new approaches for conducting short-term vocational training in order to ensure full employment of those who completed it.

First, it is proposed to tighten the qualification requirements for training centers and educational institutions, in terms of having the appropriate material and technical base, qualified teachers, the use of elements of dual education and employment of at least 60% of graduates.

Second, in order to ensure the formation of a qualitative composition of training organizations, Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs provides for the creation of a register of training centers and educational institutions.

Third, in order to provide training in occupations demanded by the labor market, it is envisaged to expand and approve the List of in-demand occupations and skills for short-term vocational training.

Fourth, in the conditions of digitalization and technological modernization of the national economy, a new mechanism is proposed in terms of re-training labor resources for Industry 4.0. To do this, employers are given the opportunity to retrain existing workers, including downsized workers, subject to co-financing of at least 50% of the cost of training.

Fifth, state support measures for training personnel with higher, technical and vocational education are integrated according to the project “Mangilіk El Zhastary — Industriyaga!” (“Serpin”), with subsequent consolidation of graduates in the regions of study.

The second direction of the program is aimed at the development of mass entrepreneurship. According to the ministry, as part of microcredit provision in rural and urban areas, as of October, 42 billion tenge was executed, including 31 billion tenge in rural areas and 11 billion tenge in cities.

Abylkassymova reported that from the early 2018, 9,801 microcredits were issued, or 70% of the annual plan, of which 8,778 were in the countryside, 1,023 in the cities. Of the whole number of issued credits, 6,217 microloans were given to start-up projects, for development of anchor cooperation in new areas — 620, for the business expansion — 2,464. Microcredit recipients additionally created 9,117 jobs. According to the Bastau-Business project, for 10 months 2018, 24 thousand people or 86% of the annual plan were covered by training, of which 16 thousand participants defended their business projects, of which 5,100 received microcredits.

Minister Abylkassymova reported that in order to accelerate the delivery of microcredits to the final borrowers, a number of changes were made in the draft state program: the size in rural settlements for the development of anchor cooperation increased from 5,000 to 8,000 MCI, the requirements to create jobs for participants of anchor cooperation and active entrepreneurs of villages and small towns were reduced, the number of participants in the program has been supplemented by active entrepreneurs.

In the framework of the third direction of the program, as of October 2018, 128 thousand people were employed for subsidized jobs or 136% of the year plan, 22 thousand (125%) — for social work places, 26 thousand — for youth practice (123%) and 80 thousand — for public work (107%). By means of the Electronic Labor Exchange, about 336 thousand people were employed for permanent jobs.

Along with this, in order to increase the mobility of labor resources, 1,488 families or 4,925 people were resettled from labor-surplus southern regions. Of these, of working age — 2,523 people, 1,424 are employed and 87 people are engaged in business activities.

“When relocating to labor-deficient regions, an important factor is the provision of housing for immigrants. To this end, on behalf of the Head of State, within the framework of the state program, mechanisms have been developed for the construction and purchase of housing for immigrants with the participation of employers. Such an approach will be tested in the North Kazakhstan region and further extended to other regions,” said Abylkassymova.

The necessary financial resources for 2019–2021 for 15 billion tenge are provided in the budget. Therefore in the next three years it is planned to provide housing for about 3,000 migrant families in the North Kazakhstan region.

In addition, the state program provides for increased coordination of government agencies in terms of monitoring job creation in the framework of state programs, investment projects and in the sphere of SMEs. For this purpose, an Integrated Map of created jobs in the context of regions and industries using the tools of project management will be developed. In addition, certain areas of the program were supplemented with new tools and indicators.

The Minister of National Economy Timur Suleimenov reported that at present, there are seven second-tier banks and two microfinance organizations involved in the microcredit scheme. The amount of funds allocated for microcredit in cities in 2018 is 17 billion tenge. Currently, 11.1 billion tenge has been developed and 1,042 projects have been financed.

“As of January 1, 2018, according to the tax authorities, the program participants who received microcredits in 2017 produced goods for 7.6 billion tenge, created and saved about 1,000 jobs, and paid 299 million tenge of taxes to the budget. We expect a significant increase in performance indicators after evaluating the business tax reporting for the year, that is, after a full cycle of using budget funds in the economy,” said Suleimenov.

In terms of economic sectors, the largest number of borrowers are trade, services, manufacturing and construction. In 2018, 320 guarantee contracts worth 1.9 billion tenge were concluded. Almost every third loan provided guarantees.

In turn, the Minister of Education and Science Yerlan Sagadiyev reported on the progress of training with technical and vocational education. As part of the implementation of the Program for Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship, 36,600 people are currently enrolled in 337 colleges, of which 21,500 are from vulnerable groups of the population (60%).

“In the 2018/19 school year, the reception was 20,200, which is 96%. The general plan is executed. According to the akimats, out of the admitted in 2017, the graduation rate was 3,900 people, 72% were employed. If this year's graduation was 3900 people, then in 2019 the graduation will be 5300 people,” Sagadiyev said.

The First Vice Minister of Agriculture Arman Yevniev in his report noted that within the framework of the second direction of the Program, through the subsidiaries of KazAgro, work is being done on microlending business projects in villages and small towns. For these purposes, in 2018 a budget loan in the amount of 44.7 billion tenge is provided, including 13.9 billion tenge of additional funds allocated as part of the implementation of the Five President’s Social Initiatives.

“As of October 26, 30.9 billion tenge with the issuance of 8,778 microcredits were developed in the republic. Credits for the implementation of 6,717 start-up projects for 21.8 billion tenge (305% of the planned figure) were issued. A total of 23,796 people was trained. Of these, 4591 received microloans for 15.6 billion tenge. For microcredits worth 991.3 million tenge, 338 guarantees were issued,” reported Yevniev.

In turn, Chairman of Atameken NCE Ablay Myrzakhmetov reported on the ongoing work on maintaining the Register of Vocational Training Centers, advanced training and qualification in technical and service professions.

“The register includes 207 training centers, of which 138 are at enterprises. In 2017, 91 training centers took part in the Program, on the basis of which more than 7,000 people were trained, 56% of them were employed,” Myrzakhmetov informed.

At the same time, under the Bastau-Business project, it is planned to train 30,000 rural and small town residents in business skills in 2018.

Akims of Kyzylorda region K. Kusherbayev, North Kazakhstan — K. Aksakalov, Pavlodar — B. Bakauov, East Kazakhstan — D. Akhmetov, Karaganda — E Koshanov, Mangistau — E. Tugzhanov, Zhambyl — A. Myrzahmetov reported on the progress in the implementation of the program in the regions.