From School Desk to Farm: Kazakhstan Plans a Formal Path into Agricultural Careers

The Committee on Regional Development and Local Self-Government of the Qazaqstan Halyk Kenesi met to discuss how to address the labor shortage in the agro-industrial complex. The focus was a legislative initiative to create legal and practical mechanisms for a new education model built around agro classes. Participants included Halyk Kenesi, the deputy governor of North Kazakhstan Region, and deputy ministers from the ministries of education, science and higher education, agriculture, and labor and social protection.

Specialized classes for grades 10–11 are already running as pilots under the 2026–2030 Comprehensive Development Plan:

• Akmola Region: 7 classes in 3 schools
• Kostanay Region: agro classes and agro studios in 6 schools
• North Kazakhstan Region: 7 districts involved

Participants agreed that dual education, electives and courses are not enough. They argued for a norm enshrined in law, making agro education a full compulsory subject, which would raise students' sense of responsibility and motivation.

The scale of the problem is considerable. According to government figures, the AIC employs about 1.1 million people, 55% of them in blue-collar jobs, and will need roughly 73,000 more skilled workers by 2035. Experts note that over half of graduates of agricultural programs do not return to the village or work in their field.

Why it matters

Initiative author Gennady Zenchenko, a Halyk Kenesi member and head of Zenchenko & Co., said rural students should gain practical skills and job-ready competencies alongside their general education. Beyond training, he said, work builds character and gives young people an understanding of a profession's value.

The group also discussed allowing teenagers to work at local enterprises, with strict age and labor safeguards. Rural parents are asking for this, hoping to pass work traditions to their children. Proposals to curb rural out-migration included better infrastructure, decent working conditions and a higher quality of life.

Positions of officials

North Kazakhstan's deputy governor, Zhussup Zhumagulov, proposed formalizing how documents and work qualifications are issued after practical training and assessment. Graduates are expected to receive:

• certificates confirming their education programs and trade qualifications;
• preferential admission to agricultural universities;
• an option to take a two-year "Automotive" course and obtain a driver's license along with the right to operate farm machinery.

First Vice Minister of Education Shynar Akparova said training should be based in colleges, together with universities and business, and called on the labor ministry to join. She noted that about 2,000 schoolchildren last year earned trade qualifications at colleges alongside school, leaving with both a certificate and a diploma.

Vice Minister Gulzat Kobenova described measures to ease access to agricultural universities, including special admission terms and targeted state grant quotas. Vice Minister of Agriculture Yermek Kenzhekhanuly stressed that the list of in-demand professions and internships must reflect real AIC needs, a point backed by Vice Minister of Labor Eldar Kuzenbayev.

Next steps

The meeting created an interagency working group led by Chinkisbayeva, including committee chair Tabigat Zeinulkabden, deputy ministers, regional governors and their deputies. It will draft amendments to regulations establishing a unified framework for agro classes, taking regional specifics into account, and submit them to the Kurultai. Other proposals voiced at the meeting will inform further work with government bodies and experts.