A Consortium for Human Capital Development in the ICT Sector Established in Kazakhstan

Today, one of the main factors in the country's economic development is human capital. In the economy, human capital refers to the total accumulated knowledge, skills, and abilities that a worker possesses, which are acquired through general and specialized education, professional training, and work experience.

According to the United Nations (UN) Human Development Report published for 2015, a ranking of 187 countries was conducted based on the Human Development Index, and Kazakhstan ranked 56th (an increase of 14 positions compared to 2014), placing it in the group of countries with a high level of human development.

To further improve the Human Development Index in Kazakhstan, a comprehensive approach to the development of human capital is necessary, particularly in the field of education, according to representatives of the Zerde Holding. In this regard, Zerde is doing significant work in creating and developing highly qualified specialists in the ICT sector. One of the main projects of 2015 was the creation of 10 professional standards for the ICT sector, based on the experience of foreign colleagues.

In addition to the professional standards projects, JSC Holding "Zerde" offers a completely new training method - the "Production-Oriented Bachelor's Degree" project. Its essence is to increase the practical component of training future specialists in the ICT sector - instead of 2-3 months of practice, students undergo an 8-month industrial internship. Thus, a university graduate receives not only a diploma but also practical experience in production, as well as relevant professional certificates.

The "Production-Oriented Bachelor's Degree" project was developed based on the experience of countries that are members of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development). The OECD actively collaborates with Kazakhstan on the development of human capital in the country.

At the third meeting of the working group on human capital development for the ICT sector in Kazakhstan, the creation of a Consortium was initiated, representing a voluntary association of government bodies, educational institutions, and ICT organizations united by common goals of training quality ICT personnel.

Members of the working group on human capital for the ICT sector noted the relevance of creating the Consortium and its necessity to eliminate the significant gap in the levels and quality of training ICT specialists in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as to reduce excessive academicism and disconnection from practice.

Currently, the following universities have joined the Consortium: International University of Information Technologies, Almaty University of Energy and Communications, West Kazakhstan State University named after Utemisov, Kazakh National University. Companies and organizations include: Kazakhstan Association of IT Companies (KAITC), Republican Scientific and Methodological Center, JSC National Information Technologies (NIT), JSC National Company Kazsatnet, EPAM, Arta Company, JSC Samruk-Kazyna, JSC NC KTZ, Kazakhtelecom, SoftDeCo, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MES RK), and others.

The Consortium is open for membership to any organizations and companies.

Source: profit.kz