EU and UNESCO launch First Sector Skills Council for Irrigation in Uzbekistan

The EU-funded project ‘Skills Development for Employability in Rural Areas of Uzbekistan,’ implemented by UNESCO, has supported operationalizing the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) in the Agriculture and Irrigation sectors, UNESCO has reported.

SSCs in Uzbekistan were defined and established for 29 sectors in December 2020. Furthermore, the project has been working to enhance the capacity of SSC through knowledge transfer workshops, where experts have shown different good models of SSC, as well as the lessons learned in other countries. In addition, the project developed the national occupational standards in the agriculture and irrigation sectors, where agriculture and irrigation SSCs are proactively involved.

‘The project is aligned with major initiatives of the Government of Uzbekistan, such as the Presidential Decree on improving the vocational education system, the Uzbekistan Agriculture Modernization and Development Strategy 2020-2030. EU will remain committed to supporting the efforts of Uzbekistan in education reforms, especially in the development of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for agriculture and irrigation,’ Head of Political, Press and Information Section of the Delegation of EU in Uzbekistan Mindaugas Kacerauskis said.

‘UNESCO supports technical vocational education and training development reforms, which eventually should positively impact the development of skilled human capital and lead to economic growth and employability of young women and men in rural areas of Uzbekistan. Furthermore, the project continues to support the SSC by facilitating the knowledge exchange with other countries through study tours and inviting international experts to Uzbekistan to reach wider audiences, including SSCs for other sectors,’ UNESCO Representative in Uzbekistan Sara Noshadi noted.