According to the data of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, in just 11 months of 2018 more than 632 thousand people took part in the Program for 2017-2021, half of which were rural residents (52.5%). Of these, 513 thousand people (81%) are unemployed, 119 thousand people are self-employed (19%). Nearly 515 thousand people were employed, more than 368 thousand of them found permanent jobs.

In 2018:

professional and technical training covered 40.2 thousand people;
41.5 thousand people attended short-term courses;
14,006 people received microcredits (12,760 (91%) in rural areas and 1,246 (9%) in cities);
subsidized workplaces employed 129 thousand people (22 thousand people for social work places, 27 thousand — for youth practice, 80 thousand — for public work);
1,733 families moved to other cities, this is 6,367 people or 100% of the plan.

Under the Program in 2019 it is planned to modernize and prepare the labor market for new challenges of the digital economy. In this regard, the Program will be focused on the creation of an effective system for obtaining skills and qualifications demanded in the labor market, the development of mass entrepreneurship, and an effective model of labor mediation.

So, in the conditions of digitalization and technological modernization of domestic industries, to provide the labor market with qualified personnel who have new competencies, a new mechanism of retraining labor resources for Industry 4.0 was has been provided. Retraining programs will be attended by those fired in the framework of the Roadmap for the management of labor flows. The retraining of these workers will be subject to co-financing by employers of at least 50% of the cost of training. The remaining 50% are funded by the state.

In order to provide employment for high-performance jobs, taking into account the needs of the economy, based on the principles of Industry 4.0. The project provides for a review of the approaches for conducting short-term vocational training, focusing them on employment. To this end, based on the analysis and forecast of the needs of the labor market in the regions, the List of popular professions and skills for short-term vocational training will be approved.

In addition, to stimulate resettlement in the labor-deficient northern regions, as well as to provide housing for displaced persons, the Program envisages the introduction of a new mechanism for the construction and acquisition of housing. This mechanism is proposed to be tested in a pilot mode in the North Kazakhstan region and further extended to other regions. Coordination of state bodies will also be strengthened in terms of monitoring job creation within state programs, investment projects and in the sphere of SMEs. To this end, an integrated map will be developed to create jobs in the context of regions and economic sectors using project management tools.

Development of Technical and Vocational Education

On behalf of the Head of State, under of the Program, the project “Free Technical and Vocational Education for Everyone” has been launched in 2017. The training is aimed at those who have not passed the Unified National Testing, who have not entered the educational institutions, and from disadvantaged families. During the period of study, Program participants are provided with state support for tuition fees, one-time hot meals, scholarships, travel.

During the two years of the Program implementation, 41 thousand young people are covered by free technical and vocational training, which allowed them to get the first profession, 41.5 thousand by short-term professional training on qualifications and skills in demand on the labor market. Of those who completed short-term vocational training, 23.4 thousand people or 68% are employed in permanent jobs.

Within the framework of the Bastau-Business project, 28.3 thousand people (100%) were covered with business basics, of which 19.5 thousand people defended business projects, and 6.3 thousand people received microcredits.

It is worth noting that short-term vocational training is conducted on the qualifications and skills that are in demand on the labor market. For the Program local executive bodies, based on the characteristics and structure of the regional labor market, form and approve a list of professions in demand in the labor market.

In 2018, within the framework of the Program, training was carried out mainly in tourism and services, catering, light industry and technical professions. In November 2018, the Program was re-approved as a state program.

Approaches to the organization of short-term vocational training have been revised. Qualification requirements for training centers and educational institutions have been tightened, in terms of employment, at least 60% of graduates. From 2019, training will be conducted in educational institutions included in the Register of Training Centers and Educational Institutions and the List of Required Qualifications and Skills, which will provide a qualitative composition of training organizations.

Microcredit as a Tool to Increase Employment

The terms of the Program stipulate that microcredits are granted to persons implementing or planning to implement business projects in rural areas, single-industry towns, small towns and cities, from the republican budget and / or local budgets. Program participants who have a training completion certificate (eligible for their business plans) have the priority right to receive loans / microcredits under the Bastau-Business project. The Program participants are unemployed, regardless of registration in employment centers, self-employed and unproductive, start-up and active entrepreneurs, agricultural cooperatives and their members who have not reached retirement age, peasant and farm enterprises, including participants in anchor cooperation.

Mandatory conditions for obtaining a microcredit program participant is its registration with the tax authorities.

Those who wish to open their own business are provided with preferential microcredit of 8 thousand minimum calculated indexes (19 million tenge) at 6% per annum, with a term of up to five years, and for projects in animal husbandry — up to seven years. Since 2018, the Program introduced a new tool to provide state grants of 100 MCI for the implementation of new business ideas free of charge.

In the framework of the fourth direction of the Five Social Initiatives, in 2019 on the instructions of the Head of the State, the volume of funds for microcredit was increased by 20 billion tenge to 62 billion tenge. In general, in 2018, 14,000 microcredits were issued, of which 12,760 of them were in rural areas, 1,246 in cities. The average size of microloans in rural areas is 3.5 million tenge, and in cities - 11.0 million tenge.

Meanwhile, out of the number of microloans issued, 8,891 microloans (63.4%) accounted for the support of start-up projects, 1,007 microloans (7.2%) — for the development of a new anchor cooperation, 4,104 microloans (29.3 %) — for an expansion of an existing business. As part of microcredit, 12,325 people from among the self-employed and 1,681 unemployed were given the opportunity to do business, as well as to formalize their activities. Also, more than 3 thousand people received state grants for the implementation of new business ideas. Thus, an important social effect was obtained in the form of creating jobs.

In addition, microcredit recipients additionally created 12.1 thousand jobs.

In order to increase entrepreneurial skills within the Program, the basics of entrepreneurship are taught. Since 2017, together with the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, the Bastau-Business project has been implemented. As of today, 28.3 thousand people, or 100% of the annual plan, have learned the basics of entrepreneurship under the project, of which 19.5 thousand participants defended their business projects, of which 6.3 thousand received microcredits.

Electronic Labor Exchange

According to the Ministry of Labor, since January 2018, the Electronic Labor Exchange has been launched in Kazakhstan, to which all 200 employment centers of the country have been connected online. At the stock exchange, employers remotely post information about vacancies, as well as access to a database of job seekers, browse their contact details, select applicants, invite for interviews and receive responses to vacancies. For job seekers, there are functions of placing a resume, automatically select vacancies, receive invitations for interviews and employment notices from employers. There is a test for career guidance. Having registered on the exchange market portal, private employment agencies also have the opportunity to post vacancies from enterprises and resumes from applicants, select applicants and vacancies according to the stated parameters, invite and receive invitations for interviews, respond to suitable vacancies and receive responses to published vacancies.

More than 87 thousand employers, 416 thousand applicants have used the Electronic Labor Exchange. About 530 thousand applicants found jobs through the exchange (392 thousand found permanent jobs and 137 thousand people — temporary). The base is updated daily with new vacancies and resumes. Since the early 2018, more than 745 thousand vacancies have been posted on the exchange portal, more than 480 thousand resumes from employers, employment centers, private employment agencies and applicants.

The objectives of the Program for the Development of Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship for 2017-2021 are:

Providing technical and vocational training, taking into account the needs of the labor market;
Short-term vocational training of workers on professions and skills demanded by the labor market;
Training in the basics of entrepreneurship;
Expansion of microcredit in the countryside and in the city;
Assistance in employment to the unemployed and self-employed;
Increased labor mobility;
Creating a single digital job site.