Kazakhstan aims to become education hub, but experts say jobs must match skills

Kazakhstan is aiming to become an education powerhouse in Central Asia but efforts must also ensure young people have sufficient access to opportunities that match their skill sets amid the country’s rapid economic transformation, experts have said.

Educators and advocates added that further collaboration with Hong Kong and mainland Chinese universities was in the pipeline, with growing demand for specialists who understood the business environments of both Kazakhstan and China.

The comments were made at a panel discussion at the South China Morning Post’s China Conference: Central Asia 2026 in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana. The session addressed how the region – which has a young population, with an average age below 27 years – was building the talent needed to match its ambitions.

Nazarbayev University in Astana was strengthening its position as a leading research institution in Central Asia, president Professor Waqar Ahmad noted, just as Kazakhstan was working towards its goal of becoming a regional education hub.

He stressed the importance of building a broader ecosystem that could keep talent at home.

“If you look at education hubs, whether it’s London, New York or the UAE [United Arab Emirates], it isn’t just quality education. It’s the broader ecosystem,” he said.