OREANDA-NEWS. August 24, 2010. Almost 20 large enterprises and over 100 small business entities have joined the project “Uzbekistan-Switzerland: development of professional skills” since its launch in 2008.

The main purpose of the scheme is to develop and test the model of cooperation between professional colleges and companies.

In the project’s framework, colleges and their professional training centers have been provided with study and laboratory equipment, as well as literature.

Stuffy program “Business and entrepreneurship” has been included in the course plan of all professional colleges of Uzbekistan.

At the first stage of the project, new approaches to cooperation between the colleges and employers were developed.

At the second stage, the learning program was updated based on a list of modern professions.

The project participants call the mutually signed contracts very beneficial, since they provide tens of graduates with permanent jobs.

Such cooperation has been established, for instance, between Andijan service college and Andijan car industry college and GM Uzbekistan joint venture and a number of parts supplying enterprises.

Regional professional training centers created within the project help young people masker the skills and knowledge in 10 various specialties.

These centers also retrain temporary unemployed people and conduct courses in business and entrepreneurship basics.