Share of young leaders in Uzbekistan rises to 65 percent

Over the past seven years, Uzbekistan's management structure has undergone significant generational change, with the share of leaders under the age of 40 increasing from 37 percent to 65 percent. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced this on June 30 during a meeting with young people.

“In New Uzbekistan, we rely on talented, enthusiastic, and leadership-minded young men and women like you to implement the principle of ‘a state at the service of the people.'

A presidential decree was signed last month to enhance the training of promising young professionals and involve them more actively in public administration. As part of this initiative, 100 young candidates are now trained annually at the Academy of Public Administration under the “Future Leaders” program," the President stated.

These participants are assigned to work directly with ministers and governors, where they spend two months gaining practical experience, followed by a one-month internship abroad. Upon completion, they are considered prime candidates for leadership positions in government.

Currently, around 1 million young people are employed in sectors such as mining, agriculture, textiles, chemicals, electrical engineering, and building materials. A new system will be created to foster the professional growth of youth employed in industry, services, entrepreneurship, and agriculture. Nationwide competitions will be held across professions, with equal participation from representatives of both state-owned enterprises and the private sector.

Additionally, each industrial sector will select 100 young workers annually to be sent abroad for training. To support this, each sector will allocate 10 billion soums, which will be deducted from their tax base.

The President also announced two separate employment programs targeting school graduates who were unable to pursue further education, and students completing technical or university studies. For this purpose, \$300 million has been allocated to Aloqabank and the National Bank. These banks will oversee the employment of 100,000 youth through the “Youth Business” program and 140,000 university graduates under the “Step to the Future” program.

To facilitate connections between graduates and employers, the Ministry of Employment, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the National Bank will launch a specialized digital platform. Additionally, the Ministries of Employment, Schools, and Higher Education have developed the “Earnings in Action” electronic system, which aims to provide summer employment to 3 million students through temporary unskilled jobs.

Furthermore, the annual “My Profession” republican competition continues to help high school students explore and choose professional career paths.