Career centers may become mandatory in all universities in Uzbekistan
Starting from January 1, 2027, all higher education institutions in Uzbekistan, regardless of their form of ownership, may be required to establish career centers. This is stated in a draft resolution prepared by the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Education.
According to this draft, which was submitted for public discussion, unified qualification requirements for managers and employees of career centers, a procedure for their advanced training, assessment and certification will be introduced. The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation will exercise special control over the launch of career centers in all higher education institutions.
The career center is the main unit in a higher education institution for the orientation of students and graduates to the profession, the development of cooperation with employers, the coordination of internships and internships, as well as monitoring the employment and professional development of graduates.
The activities of these centers are regularly monitored and evaluated based on the quality of educational programs of the higher education institution, their relevance to the needs of the labor market, indicators of stable employment of graduates and the level of satisfaction of employers with the trained personnel. The results of the activities of career centers are taken into account as an important indicator in determining the rating of higher education institutions and conducting state accreditation.
Candidates for the positions of head and employees of the career center are selected from among those who have successfully completed the “Career Center Manager” training program, passed the professional assessment (certification) process and have the appropriate certificate.
Starting from January 1, 2028, it will be mandatory to establish career centers in newly established non-state higher education institutions from the second year of their operation. If it is determined that a career center has not been established in an educational institution, the authorized body will file a lawsuit with the court to revoke the license of the educational institution. It is prohibited to establish state higher education institutions that do not have career centers.
Starting from the 2026/2027 academic year, heads of higher education institutions will reorganize the activities of career centers in accordance with the requirements of this resolution. They will introduce a separate work plan for career centers, KPI indicators, an employer database, a student career portfolio, and a graduate monitoring system. At least once a year, a survey will be conducted among students, graduates, and employers on the quality of career services.
The Ministry of Poverty Reduction and Employment, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Innovation, together with interested ministries and departments, will integrate their information systems into the career.edu.uz electronic platform for real-time analysis of graduate data. Measures will be taken to regularly provide information on employers' needs for personnel to career centers.
If the employment rate of graduates at the end of the academic year is less than 50 percent, the educational organization will not be allowed to introduce new educational programs for the next academic year.
Discussion of the draft resolution will continue until August 27.
In June 2026, during a presentation to Shavkat Mirziyoyev on issues of ensuring the employment of graduates of higher education institutions, the importance of effectively using the capabilities of career centers in universities in providing employment to graduates was emphasized. To this end, new mechanisms were proposed to fully establish the activities of career centers in all higher education institutions and increase their effectiveness.
As stipulated in the “Uzbekistan 2030” strategy, the “Career” online platform will be launched from September 2026. This project will provide students and graduates of higher and vocational education institutions with opportunities to find employment.