Uzbekistan expands youth business programs and dual education to counter graduate unemployment

With an estimated 320,000 students set to enter the domestic labor market this year, the government is shifting toward personalized employment initiatives. These include direct placement into existing vacancies, targeted support for student business ventures, and a structural overhaul of university-based career centers.

Financial backing for young entrepreneurs will expand through the ongoing "Step into the Future" program. Since its inception, the initiative has funneled UZS 378 billion into financing more than 6,000 student projects, creating jobs for 8,000 individuals. To build on this momentum, the government will allocate an additional UZS 500 billion under the program this year. The fresh funding aims to support 8,000 new student-led businesses and secure employment for 10,000 individuals, backed by enhanced financial incentives for participants.

The strategy also outlines a major push for field-specific job placement. A series of specialized TalabaExpo–2026 career exhibitions will be held nationwide to bridge the gap between students, line ministries, regional administrations, and major corporate employers.

To streamline tracking, the entire graduate hiring ecosystem will be monitored via the career.edu.uz digital platform. Authorities plan to organize 360 university-level and 750 faculty-level job fairs, alongside specialized networking meetings featuring more than 1,000 employers per academic discipline.

Under the new directives, every higher education institution must fully activate its career center. The performance of these centers will be evaluated using a newly established Graduate Quality Index. To incentivize institutional efficiency, the career centers of the top 20 universities will receive a performance bonus of UZS 500 million each. Conversely, graduate employment metrics will now serve as a primary key performance indicator (KPI) when assessing the overall competence of university leadership.

Beyond theoretical business education, the government is focusing on practical integration. Universities will receive support to launch internal start-ups and involve students in university-owned spin-off companies. Academic departments will establish external branches directly at manufacturing plants and corporate offices, allowing students to defend their graduation theses directly on potential employers' premises.

Furthermore, President Mirziyoyev approved proposals to pilot targeted dual-education programs in universities. Designed to train specialists based on precise corporate orders and adaptive curricula, the program operates through direct agreements between universities and employers. Under this model, the corporate client co-determines contract tuition costs and, in return, guarantees immediate employment to the student upon graduation.