On April 20, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed measures aimed at organizing external labor migration, preparing citizens for high-paying jobs, and ensuring their protection abroad.
Currently, Uzbek citizens work in nearly 40 countries, with the number employed abroad reaching 1.2 million. Demand for skilled workers in developed countries of Europe and East Asia continues to grow. The European Commission’s new migration strategy through 2030 places particular emphasis on cooperation with Central Asian countries, workforce training, and the prevention of illegal migration.
In this context, expanding the geography of external labor migration, primarily by entering high-income markets, has been identified as a key priority.
At present, orders have been received from foreign countries for more than 100,000 qualified specialists meeting language and professional requirements. In particular, Germany requires 40,000 nurses, while Japan needs 15,000 specialists in construction, logistics, and services.
Joint training programs implemented at technical colleges in cooperation with companies from Germany, the Republic of Korea, and Japan play an important role in meeting this demand. Under 12 such projects based on the “profession plus language” principle, 8,500 Uzbek citizens are currently undergoing training, with 3,000 graduates already employed.
It is now planned to increase the number of such projects to 20 and expand training in in-demand modern professions and foreign languages by 50 percent, bringing total coverage to more than 10,000 people. In particular, the establishment of a targeted training center is planned in Tashkent, with facilities for training in 12 in-demand professions and 7 foreign languages, as well as for conducting examinations for six types of certificates.
Additionally, specialized training courses will be introduced at medical colleges in Andijan, Samarkand, Fergana, and Tashkent to prepare nurses for international language and professional certification exams. At the same time, measures will be taken to expand training and qualification assessment centers for construction specialists, including concretors, formworkers, rebar workers, and welders.
The need to expand opportunities for seasonal employment was noted. Based on 12 new international agreements in the agricultural and tourism sectors, instructions were given to develop cooperation in seasonal employment with countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Türkiye, and the Republic of Korea.
