On October 30-31, «Worldskills Uzbekistan» championship on working professions will be held in the main building of «Ishga Marhamat» monocentre, which provides workforce development services to the unemployed.  During the competition, participants aged 16 to 25 will showcase their skills in the following six competencies: hotel administration, hairdressing, cooking, dry construction and plastering, electrical installation, welding technology.

In total, 36 participants from Tashkent, Samarkand and Shahrisabz are expected to take part in the event. Their skills will be assessed by 45 experts as part of demonstration examination. Following the championship, all participants will be issued “Skills Passport” competency certificates and the best of them will also be awarded gold medals.

The championship is organized by the Association for the Development and Promotion of Working Professions (WorldSkills Uzbekistan) and the Ministry of employment and labor relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Professional competitions of such format have been previously held as well.  Last December, the First Open National Championship of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Working Professions was organized with technical support from the Union of «Young Professionals» (Worldskills Russia). The event brought together participants, experts and observers from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the Russian Federation.  The championship was seen as a prerequisite for our country to join Worldskills International Association and on January 17, 2020 Uzbekistan’s membership was finally approved, with Uzbekistan being the 83rd member state of the organization.

Creating decent jobs for the unemployed and underemployed populations is a major priority for the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Therefore, an effective system for professional skills training and workforce development services is required to address the problems in this area, considering the dynamic labor market, large enterprises, and diverse local clusters. In order to meet the needs of the labour market for skilled professions, integrate onsite vocational training, and introduce internationally recognized system of skills assessment, the government adopted a Decree # 394 in May 2020 “on measures to improve the professional training system for professions in demand”. The decree articulates the need to introduce the national system for the development of qualifications and competencies and the creation of Association for Popularization of Working Professions «Worldskills Uzbekistan», inter alia, through the introduction of Worldskills standards into the system of vocational education, skills assessment, as well as the organization of national and regional championships of working professions.

The country’s active participation in WorldSkills championships and organization of the regional and national skills contests will contribute to the integration of best practices and international standards into the system of vocational training. Worldskills International is an international non-profit organization that aims to raise the prestige and status of the working profession as well as professional training standards of through the organization of international WorldSkills Championships taking place every two years. The next WorldSkills Championship will be held in September 2021 in Shanghai, China.

The United Nations Development Programme is a strategic partner in the development of Worldskills movement in Uzbekistan. Currently, UNDP, together with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, is implementing a joint project «Promotion of Youth Employment in Uzbekistan», funded by the "UNDP - Russian Federation for development" Trust Fund. The project aims to promote employment in Uzbekistan, especially among young people by assisting the Government of Uzbekistan in implementing a number of initiativesin the labour market.

As the Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Uzbekistan, Miss Doyna Muntianu, noted: «Within the framework of this project, it is planned to create the first Worldskills professional expert community in Uzbekistan. This will include the creation of an independent competency assessment system and the development of professional training programs in accordance with Worldskills standards. A group of 70 people will be formed as WorldSkills experts in 14 priority competencies as a result of this project implementation. These experts will continue to implement and scale up Worldskills standards in Uzbekistan».