Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Kazakhstan (Ratification: 1999)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the detailed information about the set of measures implemented by the Government in the framework of the National Entrepreneurship Development Project for 2021–2025. In this respect, the Committee observes that the Government has created a skills training architecture with special emphasis on digital learning through a single Portal of short-term online training in skills launched in July 2021 by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The Portal is open to all citizens and provides access to various short-term online courses on the principle of a marketplace (service market). The main objective of the Portal is to increase the population’s education and professional qualifications by encouraging career development. In this context, the Government indicates that as of 1 September 2023, 37,151 persons were engaged in online training, of whom 34,062 received certificates upon completion. The Government further refers to training in skills that are provided in educational organizations at the requests of employers, as well as on-the-job training with a mentor. The Committee notes that as of 1 September 2023, 3,703 persons had been enrolled in training in educational organizations, and 785 at the employer’s workplace. The Committee also notes the provision of government grants within the framework of the Bastau Business project, launched by the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs RK “Atameken”. The Project is open to any unemployed or self-employed rural resident to learn the basics of entrepreneurship and to get a preferential loan for opening own business (sewing workshops, bakeries, beauty salons, and dairy and other facilities). The Government states that in 2023 conditions have been created for the provision of 9,000 Government grants for 12.4 billion Kazakhstani tenges (approximately US$255.433 million) and as of 1 September 2023, 5,317 people had received such support in the amount of 1.3 million Kazakhstani tenges (approximately US$2,621). The Government further indicates that in 2023, a total of 28.9 billion Kazakhstani tenges (approximately US$58.26 million) was allocated to fund 5,800 microcredits, including for young entrepreneurs. The Committee further notes the establishment of subsidizing jobs to adapt to new jobs citizens facing certain barriers in the labour market. Special focus is put on young people’s career development with the creation of youth internships to address the lack of work experience after graduation and through the transfer of expertise and skills from people of pre-retirement age to young specialists within the framework of the Contract of Generations project. In addition, the Government refers to the implementation of the First Job Project in partnership with employers. This Project provides support to youth not in education, employment, or training (NEET) to overcome barriers. Lastly, the Government refers to the Silver Age project which is envisaged to encourage employers to employ persons of pre-retirement age. Since the beginning of 2023, 690,700 people have participated in the National Project, of whom 503,400 have benefited from employment measures.

The Committee notes with interest the above measures taken to tackle the main challenges the country has been facing for numerous years, namely the lack of quality jobs and opportunities for access to more productive employment opportunities, a strong reliance on natural resources, the need to promote economic diversification the need to promote diversification and to take measures for transforming the economy to the digital era and a need to focus on youth, older workers, and persons with disabilities. While taking due consideration of the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the nature, scope, and impact of all measures taken on achieving the objectives of the Convention, including as regards the issues of tackling labour market informality and inequality and the need to increase access to more productive employment opportunities in the context of the economic diversification for people belonging to groups more vulnerable to decent work deficits, such as women, young persons, older workers, and persons with disabilities. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate the impact of the measures taken on. The Committee further requests the Government to provide detailed information on measures taken or contemplated to provide lower skilled workers with upskilling and reskilling opportunities and to increase the quality and relevance of skills of young persons, especially of those who are not in employment, education, or training. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the horizontal co-operation and vertical coordination on skill policies between central and local government so as to reduce regional disparities and the large share of low paid jobs.

Statistical information. Employment trends. The Committee welcomes the statistics provided by the Government on employment trends disaggregated by economic sectors. It notes that according to the Bureau of National Statistics, the working age population aged 15 and older reached 9,567,000 persons in the second quarter of 2023 (9,115,000 in employment and 452,600 unemployed). The Government also indicates that during the reporting period the number of self-employed was 2,131,500 persons and the number of hired workers was 6,900,400. The sector of wholesale and retail trade had the highest share of employed persons (1,517,400 or 16.6 per cent), followed by education (1,177,400, or 12.9 per cent), agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (1,111,300 or 12.2 per cent), and industry (1,116,700, or 12.2 per cent). Concerning the unemployment rate, the Committee notes that it slightly decreased from 5 per cent in 2020 to 4.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2023, with overall youth unemployment falling from 4.0 per cent in 2020 to 3.6 per cent (131,700 persons) in the reporting period. The Committee further observes that according to the OECD 2021 Skills Strategy Kazakhstan the employment rate of persons with disabilities in Kazakhstan is comparatively low (22 per cent) in comparison to the OECD-European average of 46.9 per cent, despite the fact that roughly 61 per cent of persons with disabilities are of working age and only 8.9 per cent are fully disabled. In addition, according to the OECD report (page 24) the women in Kazakhstan have significantly lower employment rates than men (60.6 per cent versus 73.2 per cent), resulting primarily from much higher inactivity rates (34 per cent versus 23.1 per cent), and respectively their unemployment rates (5.6 per cent versus 4.4 per cent). TheCommittee requests the Government to continue providing updated statistical information on labour market trends in the country, particularly regarding the persons with disabilities and women, employment, unemployment, and visible underemployment rates of the active population, disaggregated by sex and age, and, if possible, by urban and rural areas.

Role of employment services in employment promotion. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government about the role and impact of mobile employment centres (MEC) in remote communities. In this respect, the Government indicates that as of 1 August 2023, the MEC completed 2,033 visits out of the planned 2,969, covering 45,910 persons, of whom 6,480 were employed on a permanent basis, 10,123 were employed in jobs subsidized by the State (social jobs, youth internships, public works, and Contract of Generations, First Job and Silver Age projects), 415 persons attended short-term vocational training, and 5,137 people commenced training under the Bastau Business project. In addition, grants for implementing new business ideas were issued to 476 persons. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the activities, number, and impact of the mobile employment centres, including data disaggregated by age and sex, on the numbers of persons placed in employment. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on manners to address difficulties encountered by the mobile employment centres in rural areas/remote communities. The Committee also requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on employment and unemployment trends disaggregated by regions.

Vocational training. Noting the information provided, the Committee requests the Government to continue to communicate updated information on vocational and training programmes and the impact of these programmes on employment.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in employment policy design and implementation. Regarding the consultations with social partners, the Government refers to a meeting on 25 August 2023 of the National Tripartite Commission for Social Partnership and the Regulation of Social and Employment Relations. The Government also informs about the entry into force of a General Agreement with national trade union associations and national employers’ associations for 2021–23 and the adoption of a corresponding Action Plan. The Plan includes a section “Ensuring Employment” within the framework of which the Government and social partners worked together to implement the Employment Roadmap for 2020–21, aimed at ensuring employment and creating additional jobs. The Committee also notes the information on the ILO’s webpage that on 12 June 2024 the ILO and Kazakhstan have agreed a Roadmap to promote decent work in the country between 2024–25. The Roadmap outlines work in five main areas, including social dialogue and tripartism, an area in which, in 2023, Kazakhstan adopted a new Social Code, promoting social dialogue and the institutional capacity of the social partners (employers’ and workers’ organizations). The Committee request the Government to continue communicate information on consultations with representatives of all sectors of the economically active population, in particular, with representatives of disadvantaged groups, such as persons with disabilities, rural workers and workers in the informal economy regarding the elaboration of employment policy measures.