Austria's '2+2' vocational education model is being implemented in Uzbekistan

An agreement on the training of specialists and trainers from Uzbekistan in modern methods of hotel business management in accordance with Austrian standards was signed in Vienna. The parties that signed the document were the Agency for Professional Education of Uzbekistan and the Austrian University of Applied Sciences IMC Krems.

The organization of specialist training will take place at two educational institutions: the No. 1 Technical School of Chartak District and the Bukhara Technical School of Tourism and Cultural Heritage.

Studying the Vocational Education System

During the visit, the Uzbek delegation also familiarized itself with the Austrian vocational education system. The discussion covered aspects such as the dual learning model, methods of financing technical colleges, the involvement of employers in the personnel training process, and subsequent employment of graduates.

Previously, Uzbekistan held the chairmanship of the CIS Tourism Council for the period 2026–2027. Among the republic's main objectives was the goal of training highly qualified workers for the tourism sector and strengthening partnerships between educational institutions related to this industry.

Uzbekistan plans to expand the coverage of dual education to at least 80% of students studying in the third and fourth years, which corresponds to approximately 185 thousand young people. Under this model, theoretical study at the higher educational institution will be combined with gaining practical experience at production sites.

The relationship between the student, the university, and the employer will be formalized by a contract, and each student at the workplace will be assigned a qualified mentor. This was reported during a presentation made to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev regarding the reform of the higher education system.

In the initial stage of implementation, the new system will affect 75 higher educational institutions and 3.5 thousand enterprises. It is planned that by the 2027/2028 academic year, dual education will be organized for 12.5 thousand students. Priority areas for developing this form of education are engineering, construction, manufacturing, and agriculture, while curricula will be adjusted to account for the specific needs of individual companies.

A number of state support measures are provided for enterprises that are ready to accept students for internships and facilitate their subsequent employment. These measures include compensation of 50% of the salary paid to the student, provision of benefits regarding customs payments and depreciation, as well as preferential treatment when participating in public procurement.

Previously, ten rectors studied the experience of implementing dual education in Germany. According to the presentation, 70–75% of graduates who receive a diploma in Germany continue to work at the enterprises where they interned. Furthermore, there is already a successful example in the Andijan region, where 11 thousand students undergo internships at 2 thousand enterprises under the dual education program. The President instructed all rectors to personally visit this region to study this model in detail.

It was also previously reported about plans to develop more than 1,300 new textbooks for Uzbekistan.