This policy handbook offers country-specific recommendations on how to improve human capital and close the skills gap by supporting vocational education and training (VET) systems and make them relevant to the labour markets in the Central Asia region.

It builds on the key findings with regards to Human Capital Development in Central Asia of the Central Asia Competitiveness Outlook, which was published by the OECD in July 2011. The Outlook notes that Central Asian economies can boost their competitiveness by building on the strengths of their education systems, which in most parts of the region include high literacy rates, high primary and secondary enrolment for both sexes and an above-average enrolment in tertiary education. The publication contains the conclusions related to human capital development and provides guidance for policy makers on implementing VET systems in order to better equip graduates with skills they need to get jobs. While VET systems in Central Asia differ in their respective levels of development, all suffer from a misalignment between worker skills and job market requirements. Overcoming these challenges would result in significant progress for all countries in the Central Asia region.