On a warm evening last month in Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, students moved from booth to booth, learning about professions, speaking with employers, and discovering training opportunities they had not encountered before. Parents observed with curiosity, employers discussed skills needs directly with young people, and policymakers watched vocational education come alive in a way that policy documents alone rarely achieve.

Like many countries undergoing economic and social transformation, Uzbekistan is working to modernize its technical and vocational education and training (TVET) system. Considerable reforms are underway: New quality assurance structures are emerging, employer engagement is being strengthened, and dual training approaches are being piloted.

But despite this momentum, vocational education still faces persistent challenges. Public understanding of vocational pathways remains limited, employers are not yet systematically integrated into training processes, and many young people continue to perceive vocational education as a secondary option rather than a pathway to professional opportunity.

Against this backdrop, the idea for a national “Professions and Labor Day” began to take shape.

Beyond awareness campaigns

The original proposal was relatively simple: Create a public platform that brings together students, employers, training institutions and government actors around professions, skills and career pathways.

The initiative originated in 2023 as part of the VET4UZ project, which was funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, when Helvetas introduced the concept during donor coordination discussions on TVET reform in Uzbekistan. The idea was further developed together with GIZ, and both organizations actively worked to engage the wider international community in supporting the initiative. What followed was remarkable: In September 2025 nine international organizations joined forces to organize and promote the initiative collectively, demonstrating an unusual level of cooperation among development partners around TVET reform.

From the beginning, the initiative was understood to be more than just an awareness campaign. The intention was to create a space where different actors within the TVET ecosystem could interact more directly and visibly than they usually do in formal reform processes.

Rather than relying only on conferences or policy discussions, the first events focused on practical demonstrations. Spaces were created where students could explore professions through interactive activities, employers could showcase workplace realities and skills expectations, and training providers could present vocational education not as an abstract concept, but as something tangible and connected to real labor market opportunities.

This experiential approach helped move discussions about TVET reform from abstract policy language into concrete public experiences.

Creating shared ownership

Government institutions quickly recognized this initiative’s potential as a tool for public engagement and career orientation. Employers saw opportunities to connect directly with future talent. Local authorities became involved in organizing regional events, while media coverage helped broaden the discussion around vocational education and labor market development.

The coalition of international organizations supporting the initiative also helped create visibility and legitimacy. Because the initiative was promoted collectively rather than driven by a single institution or development project, it gained broader recognition and political momentum from an early stage. Over time, the initiative evolved into a shared platform involving multiple stakeholders.

This process of shared ownership may prove to be an even more important outcome than the event itself. In many reform contexts, sustainability depends less on individual activities and more on whether different actors begin to see value in maintaining and shaping an initiative together.

From pilot initiative to national platform

In October 2025, Uzbekistan formally institutionalized the initiative through a presidential resolution, establishing “Professions and Labor Day” as a recurring nationwide platform.

An important milestone followed a few months later. While the earlier events had still been strongly supported through international cooperation and pilot-based implementation, the first nationally organized and Uzbekistan-led Professions and Labor Day took place in May 2026.

This shift mattered. The initiative was no longer perceived primarily as a project activity, but increasingly as part of the country’s own evolving TVET reform agenda. Vocational institutions across the country opened their doors, employers engaged with students directly, and discussions about professions and skills became more visible in public discourse.

The institutionalization of the initiative does not solve the structural challenges facing TVET in Uzbekistan. Questions around quality, governance, employer participation, teacher capacities and the long-term coherence of the system remain highly relevant. Public perception alone cannot transform vocational education.

At the same time, visibility and public engagement influence how young people make career decisions, how employers engage with training institutions, and how vocational education is positioned within society more broadly.

What can be learned?

Uzbekistan’s experience offers several reflections that are relevant beyond the country context.

First, not all reform processes begin with large-scale policy frameworks. Smaller practical initiatives can create spaces for dialogue, experimentation and coalition-building that later support more formal institutional development.

Second, visibility matters. Technical reforms often remain invisible to the broader public, even when they are strategically important. Initiatives that make vocational education more understandable and tangible can help create broader engagement around reform processes.

Third, ownership is critical. The initiative gained traction not because it was implemented by a single actor, but because different stakeholders gradually found their own reasons to support and shape it.

Finally, the experience illustrates an important reality of TVET reform: Modernizing vocational education is not only about introducing new structures and standards. It is equally about building relationships, public understanding, and trust between education systems, employers and society.

In that sense, Professions and Labor Day is more than an individual event – it’s a platform that creates visibility, dialogue and participation within a broader and still evolving reform process.

About the Authors

Simone Strasburger is the Team Leader Support for VET Reforms (VET4UZ) in Uzbekistan.

Asliddin Odilov is the Deputy Team Leader and Senior Expert for Quality Assurance at the VET4UZ project.

Salaidin Kamaldinov is the Regional Communications and Knowledge Management Coordinator for Helvetas Central Asia.