OREANDA-NEWS. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $32 million project to promote a demand-driven, quality-assured, and flexible technical and vocational education and training (TVET) delivery system in Tajikistan. 

“The TVET system is largely supply-driven with most course structure and content outdated, resulting in a mismatch between graduate skills and labor market demand, and it is chronically underinvested,” said Betty Wilkinson, Director of Public Management, Financial Sector, and Trade Division of ADB’s Central and West Asia Department (CWRD). 

“Poor physical facilities and outdated curricula reinforce the generally low social image of TVET, and contribute to the system’s inability to attract students,” said Aliya Mukhamedyarova, Financial Sector Specialist, in CWRD. 

The project will help modernize the TVET system by developing industry-endorsed standards and competency-based training and assessment tools for 17 priority occupations. The project will upgrade physical learning and teaching facilities in 29 TVET institutions and will also strengthen governance and management, and improve access to quality programs. 

The project will benefit the two-thirds of the labor force who need more marketable skills, including returning migrants, rural residents, and women. Students will obtain competitive technical certifications from improved TVET courses, as well as internships and links to private firms.

The ADB financing includes a $15 million grant and a $15 million concessional loan from its Asian Development Fund. In addition, ADB will administer a $2 million grant from the multidonor Clean Energy Fund under the Clean Energy Financing Partnership Facility. The project will run for 5 years with expected completion in 2021. The Ministry of Labour, Migration, and Employment will be the executing agency. 

Tajikistan joined ADB in 1998. To date, ADB has approved total assistance of over $1.3 billion in concessional loans, grants, and technical assistance to the country. The ADB-Tajikistan partnership has promoted social development, upgraded and built new infrastructure, expanded agricultural production, developed the microfinance market, and encouraged regional cooperation and trade under the CAREC Program.

ADB, based in Manila, dedicates itself to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the Asia-Pacific region. In 2014, ADB assistance totaled $22.9 billion, including cofinancing of $9.2 billion.