WorldSkills General Assembly 2023 welcomes Kyrgyzstan

WorldSkills Kyrgyztan is the newest Member of WorldSkills. Their membership was formally ratified today during the first session of WorldSkills General Assembly 2023 being held in Dublin, Ireland, from 24 to 28 September. The country became the 86th Member of WorldSkills.

The population of the Central Asian country is young, with over half its people under 30 and nearly a third under 15.

Reforms to its Vocational Education and Training (VET) system were carried out in 2022, expanding the offer of skills development programmes to align with the needs of the Kyrgyz industry. Joining WorldSkills is part of the country’s strategy to increase the profile of VET, in particular at the primary and secondary level.

“Kyrgyzstan has joined WorldSkills International to apply the highest standards in training skilled people and to unleash the potential of local talented youth so that they can pursue their dream career,” said Jyldyz Akmatova, Head of Development, KASEF Public Foundation, and WorldSkills Official Delegate.

Traditional livelihoods included farming and livestock rearing, but in recent decades, the country has become a source of nonferrous metals, notably of antimony and mercury ores. It has significant coal reserves in addition to some petroleum and natural gas deposits. Aside from that gold mining has also increased in importance.

Kyrgyzstan’s main manufacturing industries are in the production of machinery, electronic components, and light industrial products, as well as food processing. Hydroelectric power provides more than three-fourths of the country’s electric energy.

The country, however, has significant skill gaps. With a labour force of more than 2.5 million people, only three in every five people have accessed vocational education.

The KASEF Public Foundation was established on 10 April 2023, with the mission to contribute to the development of VET in the Kyrgyzstan. The promotion of WorldSkills Occupational Standards and skill competitions is supported by the Ministry of Education and Science.

Find more information and contact details for all WorldSkills Members on our website.