16 February 2018, 10:28
The State Program for the Development of Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship is being implemented in Kazakhstan. Last year alone, about 360 thousand new jobs were created, 77% of which are permanent jobs. In this article we want to talk about the Program, the positive results that have been achieved through its implementation and how to become its participant.
Let's start with the definition of the term. Productive employment is an activity that is not fictitious and brings workers income that provides decent living conditions.
For the first time, Kazakhstanis heard about this program after the extended meeting of the Government of Kazakhstan of 09.09.2016. Then the Head of State put a specific task to stimulate mass entrepreneurship and provide employment before the Cabinet of Ministers. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population promptly responded to the instructions of the President and in December 2016, the Government approved the Program for the Development of Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship for 2017-2021. The launch of the program was announced in early 2017.
The main goal of the new program was the organization of mass training of citizens in the professions demanded on the labor market or the basics of entrepreneurship.
In the first year, more than 570 thousand people became its participants, 316 thousand of which found permanent jobs.
According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, by the end of 2017, the unemployment rate in comparison with the beginning of the year decreased by 0.1 percentage points and amounted to 4.9%.
The instruction of the Head of State to introduce free vocational education for young people have been fulfilled. Additionally, 21 thousand young people began to study.
In general, 93,1 thousand people have been sent to vocational education and short-term training and 15 thousand (or 100%) — to study the basics of entrepreneurship within the Bastau-Business project.
7,2 thousand people received microcredits under the Program.
408 families or 1577 people took part in the voluntary resettlement.
As a result of the work initiated and carried out by the Ministry, in less than a year the status was defined and formalized for about 3 million out of 5.7 million people with previously unidentified status. Of the remaining 2.7 million people:
1.2 million – informally employed, for the formalization of which it is necessary to make changes in the legislation;
1.5 million – unproductively self-employed and unemployed, who are to be involved in productive employment.
As noted above, in the framework of the Program for the Development of Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship for 2017-2021, free technical and vocational education is available.
Young people up to the age of 29, school graduates who could not enter universities for several years, who work without qualification, as well as unemployed (regardless of registration in employment centers) and self-employed citizens can take part in the Program as a priority.
The conditions for receiving free vocational education and the list of educational institutions are approved by local executive bodies.
Also, the program envisages 1 to 6 months short-term courses for the self-employed individuals, where they are also taught the digital literacy, English and the basics of entrepreneurship. Foreign citizens will not be able to participate in the program.
For the short-term courses, applicants should apply to employment centers, educational organizations, regional chambers of entrepreneurs, or to the akim with an application for participation. On the basis of the provided documents, the employment centers will send the lists to the district (city) commission, which will have to respond within three working days.
Within the framework of the project, a total of 160 priority technical, technological, and agricultural specialties have been identified. In order to increase the training of the workforce, two-level modular programs will be introduced, provide two or three working specialties at the first level, and the middle level specialist at the second level.
For example, to become an electrician-mechanic, a young man must master the skills of an electrician and a locksmith. In the short-term courses, training is provided for such professions as a machinist, an electrician, a plumber, an operator, a wiring technician, a locksmith, a cook, a road construction machine, various cranes operator, a slinger, a carpenter, a concrete worker, a fitter, a welder and others.
The size of state support and material assistance to the participants of the Program:
The MLSPP RK says that within the next five years 320 thousand people will be covered, including 106 thousand workers (21,3 thousand people a year). Professional training through short-term courses will cover 214 thousand people (in 2017 —26 thousand people, in 2018 — 36 thousand people, in 2019 — 46 thousand people, in 2020 — 50 thousand people, in 2021 — 56 thousand people).
Regarding the financial support of this direction of the Program, free vocational education will be carried out according to working qualifications at the expense of local budgets. The results of training personnel financing are 118.7 billion tenge (4.3 billion tenge in 2017, 17.1 billion tenge in 2018, 29.3 billion tenge in 2019, 34.7 billion tenge in 2020, 33.3 billion tenge in 2021).
Both unemployed and self-employed persons, and agricultural cooperatives that plan to implement their projects in cities can participate in the Program.
To obtain the microcredits, applicants who are implementing or planning to implement business projects in rural settlements and small towns should apply to employment centers for consultations. A prerequisite for the opening micro-business is the passage of training courses on the basics of entrepreneurship, which are also available under the Program. Employment centers in accordance with the requirements of the Program send them to the MFI (micro-financial organization)/CP (credit partnership)/ FFSA JSC (Fund of Financial Support for Agriculture), where the potential business project is evaluated, a conclusion is issued and a decision is made about the possibility or impossibility of issuing a microcredit.
With regard to obtaining a microcredit in cities, applicants also need to contact employment centers, get advice and be tested for compliance with the Program participants. Further, applicants apply to the MFI/STB for microcredit and it is the STB/MFI that conducts an assessment of the potential business project, gives a conclusion and decides whether or not it is possible to issue a microcredit.
In early 2017, the conditions for budgetary lending were defined, trilateral loan agreements between the MNE RK, the Ministry of Finance and akimats were signed, funds from the budget were transferred to the Damu Entrepreneurship Development Fund.
In support of entrepreneurial initiatives in rural and urban areas, under the Program of Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship, on preferential terms (not more than 6%) microcredits are granted up to 8 thousand MCIs (18 million tenge).
Within the framework of microcrediting in cities, it is possible to provide guarantees from the Damu Fund to 50% on microcredits for existing entrepreneurs and up to 85% for beginning businessmen. Microcredits are issued for the implementation of both investment business projects, that is, the acquisition of fixed assets, and replenishment of working capital without sectoral linkages.
We can say that today the state provides the whole set of tools for a person who wants to try himself in business.
At the end of 2017 in the work of second-tier banks there were funds in the amount of 11.8 billion tenge, of which more than 10.1 billion tenge were raised to the final borrower. Guarantees for microcredits were provided for the amount of 967 million tenge on 172 contracts.
Another direction of the Program provides an opportunity for rural businesses to undergo an adapted course of business preparation for the Bastau-Business project. The organization of training is assigned to Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs.
Bastau-Business project covers 80 districts in 14 regions. A total of 15 000 people were trained from among the unemployed and self-employed population, of which 3134 projects received funding from development institutions. Due to the implementation of the project in rural areas, business projects have been mainly financed in rural areas.
In the third direction of the Program "Development of the labor market through the promotion of employment and mobility of labor resources," the following measures of state support are provided: finding suitable vacancies and assisting in finding work, creating social jobs, organizing youth practices, organizing public works, social vocational guidance.
The creation of a single information base of the labor market "Labor Exchange" contributes to the achievement of the objectives set in the Program. As the President of Kazakhstan noted in his Address, the processes of rendering public services should be optimized, at the same time, they need to be translated into electronic format.
Since January 1, the electronic labor exchange — enbek.kz —has been operating all over the country. More than 200 employment services have already been connected to it, including private employment agencies and Internet sites. The MLSPP RK plans to double the number of people employed by this single online platform by the end of 2018.
The portal consolidates information about job seekers, vacancies (vacant posts), as well as information posted by private employment agencies, uploading graduates from universities and colleges from the database, and information posted on the portal by the applicants and employers themselves. Thus, for the population, participation in the portal will allow access to the base of vacant jobs (vacant posts), post a resume, get a referral service for vacancies, apply for professional training.
Also in the framework of this area of the Program, measures have been envisaged to voluntarily relocate people from the labor surplus to the work-deficit areas.
In Kazakhstan there are labor-deficit (EKR, NKR, Pavlodar and Kostanay regions) and labor-surplus (SKR, Almaty, Zhambyl, Kyzylorda, Mangistau regions) areas. And, so that there is no imbalance, the employment program provides for the relocation of workers from the south to the north. Resettlement is voluntary, and it is carried out only when there are guarantees that after the move the person will definitely get a job.
To date, state support for voluntary resettlement includes:
A participant in the program can get all the subsidies at once if they want to buy a house or an apartment. For this, a contract of sale is required. For example, a family consisting of five people, having moved to a village, can count on 571 788 tenge. If they moved to the city — 816 840 tenge.
In 2017, 920 families moved (3351 people), of whom 408 families (1577 people) are internal migrants, 512 families (1774 people) are oralmans. Of them, there are 1710 people of working age, 1026 people are currently employed. All participants of the Program were paid subsidies for relocation and reimbursement of expenses for housing.
It is necessary to say that within the framework of the Employment Program, one of the main issues that arose during the employment of a young specialist from among graduates was solved. After the graduation from the school, young children faced the problem of employment because of a lack of work experience.
Now a young man can apply to the Employment Center at his place of residence, choose an organization where he wants to pass a youth practice in his specialty. There he can get the necessary labor experience under the guidance of an experienced mentor within 6 months. At the same time, the salary in the amount of 25 MCI (60 125 tenge in 2018) — is fully paid by the state.
Further permanent employment of a young specialist depends on him. If he shows himself positively and shows all his abilities, the employer can offer him a permanent job.
In the youth practice, graduates of technical and professional, post-secondary, higher and postgraduate education (within three years after completion of training) who do not have experience in the profession received have the right to participate.
For a more detailed Memo for a participant in the Program for the Development of Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship, please click here.
According to the target indicators of the Program for the Development of Productive Employment and Mass Entrepreneurship for 2017-2021, by the time of its completion, the unemployment rate will not exceed 4.8%, the share of labor resources with basic, secondary, general and primary education in the labor force will be less than 20 %, the share of unproductive workers in the self-employed population will not exceed 10%, and the growth of active SMEs will be 10%.
The planned amount of financing from the republican budget is 40.2 billion tenge in 2017, 46.5 billion in 2018, 47.3 billion in 2019. Due to general transfers, 45 billion were allocated for 2017, 45.3 billion — for 2018 and 45.4 billion in 2019.
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