Opening the event, Chairman of the Senate Maulen Ashimbayev noted that youth is the main engine of modernization, a source of renewal in the new Kazakhstan, the concept of which was proposed by the President of the country. The speaker stressed that the January events required a serious revision of the current youth policy.

“The tragic January events revealed the severity of the problems of unsettled youth. Many of the young people who participated in the protests did not have a quality education, stable job or income. We have seen how such youth can be used by various destructive forces. An important lesson of the tragic January is the realization that an effective youth policy is a key condition for the sustainability and stability of the state. And therefore, it is the main priority of the national agenda,” said Maulen Ashimbayev.

The Speaker of the Senate highlighted a number of acute socio-economic problems that require urgent, systemic and comprehensive solutions. First of all, he drew attention to the problem of access to quality education. According to him, the gap between the quality of education in urban and rural schools is especially acute. This is demonstrated by the UNT results.

“During the pandemic, this gap widened due to uneven access to the Internet in urban and rural areas. Meanwhile, it is the inequality in access to quality education that is one of the main causes of social inequality,” said the Chairman of the Chamber.

Another of the main problems of youth, as Maulen Ashimbayev noted, is unemployment. The official youth unemployment rate is relatively low, but alternative studies by independent organizations show different data.

“According to surveys by independent organizations, in the age group of 25-29 years, almost 12% of respondents have not yet had a permanent job. More than 40% of Kazakhstani youth with a diploma of higher education work outside their profession. In this regard, questions arise about the effectiveness of the use of budget funds allocated for the creation of jobs and youth practice,” said Maulen Ashimbayev.

The Chairman of the Senate also stated that there is no clear and effective policy to support youth entrepreneurship.

“The reasons why young people refuse to start their own business are the lack of start-up capital - 32%, and the lack of knowledge to create their own business - 18%. In this regard, questions arise regarding the effectiveness of entrepreneurship support programs, to which considerable budget funds are directed, including through the NCE Atameken, said Maulen Ashimbayev.

The participants of the hearings noted that one of the serious issues for young people is the provision of housing. At the moment there is a program for the provision of rental housing for working youth. However, taking into account the acuteness of the housing issue, all these measures are still not enough, the Speaker of the Chamber noted. Against this background, we see some isolation of youth policy from the real problems and needs of young people, Maulen Ashimbayev added.

“The state implements various programs and projects in the field of youth policy, but the level of youth involvement in it is low. Often it does not exceed 10%. The level of participation of young people in the work of republican and regional youth organizations is also low,” said the Chairman of the Senate.

During the event, issues of forming a system of values ​​among young people were also raised. According to the given data, Kazakhstani youth adheres mainly to traditional values. But such values ​​of modernization as a profession, self-realization, creativity and social recognition do not have such a high significance for our youth. Citing these examples, Maulen Ashimbayev noted that it is important for us both to preserve the traditional values ​​of family and friendship, and to instill in young people the values ​​necessary to build an innovative economy. Without this, it will be difficult to build New Kazakhstan, which implies a new system of values ​​in society, the Senate Speaker summed up his speech.

During the Parliamentary hearings, Deputy Prime Minister Yeraly Tugzhanov also spoke about the work done in the field of youth policy, about problems and ways to solve them. Senators, representatives of youth organizations, entrepreneurs, members of the Young Experts Club under the Senate also raised topical issues related to youth policy.

At the end of the event, a number of recommendations were developed, which will be sent to the Government for consideration and decision.