The Central Asian Country takes greater ownership in its 2nd round of participation

Yelena Zigangirova, senior analyst at the Info Analytic Centre, Astana, has been at the heart of the Torino Process this round – her organisation is coordinating efforts in Kazakhstan.

A special working group has been bringing together all the key stakeholders in vocational education and training (VET) – including representatives from the ministries of education, healthcare and social development and labour, the chamber of entrepreneurs and association of colleges.

‘After the ETF introduced its new analytical framework, we did the same with the working group,’ Zigangirova, Kazakhstan’s Torino Process coordinator, says.

Her centre did desk research, collaborated detailed information from stakeholders and the national statistical committee, before preparing the draft report and distributing it to stakeholders for review.

‘We we had a most fruitful discussion, checking to see if we had any variations in our findings. It is the first time we have done the Torino Process work in this way.’

She sums up her experience of the Torino Process in three words: cooperation, holistic and unified.

The approach of the working group fostered cooperation, helped develop a holistic vision that brought unity to the disparate members.

Kazakhstan’s roadmap for the development of education – a strategic government report – gives a useful snapshot of where the system is, she says.

‘In principle, all documents and laws passed by the government are put in the roadmap – for instance, its ratification in 2015 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We can then use the roadmap to check for specific evidence on the degree to which that is being respected.’

International benchmarks, such as the PISA scores that measure academic achievement, are part of the roadmap – a useful tool that VET schools or firms can use to see how their students or employees measure up.

Priorities for the future include improving Kazakhstan’s record on social inclusion, widening access to free education and addressing regional imbalances in training opportunities.

Find out more at the Torino Process international conference – Changing Skills for a Changing World – June 7-8, 2017.