President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting with young people on the occasion of June 30 – Youth Day.
“From the very beginning of the reforms, we identified supporting young people and helping them achieve their dreams and aspirations as one of the highest priorities of state policy,” the President said.
Mirizyoyev emphasized that, in today’s increasingly competitive world, a country’s strength is determined primarily by knowledge, technology, and human capital.
“Today, countries compete not with territories, but with knowledge, not with the size of their population, but with technology, not with natural resources, but with human capital. The new knowledge economy, based on knowledge, science, and intellectual potential, is becoming a decisive force,” the President said.
The President identified knowledge, a profession, and modern technologies as the three essential pillars enabling young people to find their rightful place in life.
To this end, the “Knowledge of the Future” ecosystem will be launched, under which 500,000 young people will receive training in modern professions each year. Young people wishing to establish training centers will be provided with land plots and state-owned facilities on preferential terms. The necessary infrastructure will be developed at the state’s expense, while interest payments on loans for the construction and equipping of such centers will also be subsidized.
A “Vocation Voucher” program will be introduced for young people who already have a profession but seek to acquire new skills. Each year, the cost of training in modern professions for 50,000 young people will be covered through interest-free loans. In addition, 85,000 unemployed young people from low-income families will receive free vouchers for vocational training at private educational institutions.
The Head of State announced that employers hiring university graduates will benefit from a reduced income and social tax rate of 1 percent for young specialists for one year. This measure is expected to provide a significant boost to the employment of nearly 200,000 graduates.
To support young people left without parental care, as well as those returning from military service, labor migration, or correctional facilities, and young people with disabilities, the “Guaranteed First Step” support package will be introduced.
In addition, the “Youth Mini-Franchise” program will be launched. Young people acquiring franchises of local brands will be eligible for interest-free loans of up to 300 million soums through the Youth Entrepreneurship Fund.
Youth hubs will be established, enabling young people to access vocational training, foreign language courses, employment, and entrepreneurship services through a one-stop service model. The initiative will first be introduced in Surkhandarya region before being gradually expanded nationwide.
Mirziyoyev also outlined new tasks to support innovative startups.
“Our goal is for the economy to exceed $240 billion by 2030. Achieving this target requires innovative startups capable of bringing new ideas to every sector of the economy,” the President said.
It was noted that over the past nine years, Uzbekistan’s startup ecosystem has expanded fifteenfold to more than $4 billion, giving rise to over 1,200 promising startup projects.
The establishment of new IT parks will create more than 20,000 high-paying jobs for young people. Under the “My First Computer” program, 10,000 young people from low-income families will receive assistance in purchasing laptops.
Photo: president.uz
