Kazakh delegation visits Germany

The Kazakh delegation visited the Brillat-Savarin school (Berlin)- an advanced secondary vocational education center targeted at the hotel and hospitality industry.

The study tour was organized in the frameworks of the project ’Partnerships for Youth Employment in the CIS’, implemented by the ILO DWT and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The country delegation, consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development, the Office of the Prime Minister, the Kazakh Parliament, and the Astana City Employment Center, were welcomed to Berlin by Dr. Annette Niederfranke, Director of the ILO Office for Germany. During her opening address, Dr. Niederfranke noted that the German experience is highly interesting to study, considering the success with which the country has thus far managed to weather the global economic crisis. This, she said, has been made possible thanks to strong social partnership and comprehensive employment and education policies, ensuring that challenges have been addressed in a swift and coordinated manner.

Kazakhstan recently introduced a bill endorsing the notion of a dual education system in the country, and the study visit served to foster exchange of experience in this field, within which Germany has long experience. Other topics discussed included employment policies and legislation, and the role of public employment services and social partners in employment policy making. During the four-day visit, meetings took place with the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training, the Federal Employment Service, the Confederation of Trade Unions, and the German Parliament. The delegation also visited the Brillat-Savarin school - an advanced secondary vocational education center targeted at the hotel and hospitality industry.

’During these days, we have gained a lot of new and fruitful knowledge about how Germany promotes employment through its comprehensive set of policies and programs and through its successful dual education system. This knowledge will be very useful for us, as we continue the implementation of similar practices in Kazakhstan’, said Ms. Gulmira Issimbaeva, Deputy of the Kazakh Parliament.

The benefits of the study visit were highlighted also by Ms. Olga Koulaeva, Senior Employment Specialist at ILO DWT-CO Moscow. ’The Kazakh economy is developing quickly and dynamically’, she noted. ’New demands on the labour market will have to be met with a skilled labour force to ensure continued pro-employment growth, and the introduction of a dual education system in the country is one way in which this issue is being addressed. The active discussions with German counterparts have provided new insights and knowledge, which will doubtlessly make a valuable contribution to the ongoing policy developments in Kazakhstan’.