[Visiting the ODA Field]②"Like Korea Too"...Uzbek Youth Dream of an IT Miracle

On the 13th (local time) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Mansur Makmudov, CEO of WIP DOER, is giving an interview to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press corps. [Joint coverage by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

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On the 13th (local time) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Mansur Makmudov (36, male), CEO of WIP DOER, shared his thoughts when asked about the impact of Korean aid on his life: "It's indescribable. Without KOICA's support, I wouldn't even be sitting at this desk." Founded in 2017 with two co-founders, WIP DOER is a printing and publishing company currently employing around 40 people. Recently, the company moved out of its rented office and purchased a new two-story headquarters building.

CEO Makmudov is a first-generation graduate of the Samarkand Vocational Training Center, which was established in 2016 through cooperation between the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Uzbek government. Previously, he worked as a taxi driver for about four years using a borrowed car, but at that time, his savings amounted to less than 700,000 Korean won. By chance, he heard about the establishment of the vocational training center in Samarkand with support from the Korean government. After completing eight months of training in the IT department, he has now become the head of a respectable company.

Makmudov said, "Before enrolling in the IT department, I didn't even have basic computer knowledge," and added, "With the opening of the vocational training center, IT graduates have learned advanced skills such as CorelDRAW and AutoCAD, and the demand for experts in this field is increasing." He smiled and said, "When I graduated from the vocational training center, I had 6 million Uzbek som (about 670,000 Korean won) in capital, but now our annual revenue reaches 1.5 million dollars (about 2.1 billion Korean won)."

Uzbekistan, the most populous country in Central Asia, has a total population of 35 million, with 64% under the age of 30. Every year, about 500,000 young people enter the labor market, but there is a shortage of relevant workforce development programs. Samarkand, located about 354 km from the capital Tashkent, is the country's second-largest city and is considered an industrial and cultural center.

KOICA established its first vocational training center in Tashkent in 2012, followed by Samarkand (2016), Shakhrisabz (2018), and Fergana (2021), and is currently building its fifth center in Urgench. The curriculum is tailored to the characteristics of each region, offering courses in automotive, electrical, and IT fields, and supporting industry-academia cooperation programs. A total of 6.4 million dollars (about 900 million Korean won) was invested in the Samarkand vocational training capacity-building project over five years starting in 2013. Since its opening in 2016, the center has produced a total of 4,233 graduates and boasts a 91% employment rate.

On the 13th (local time), students enrolled in the Automotive Department of the Samarkand Vocational Training Center in Uzbekistan, established with KOICA support, are conducting practical training. [Photo by Ministry of Foreign Affairs Joint Press Corps]

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On the 13th (local time), Bekmurod Holmurodov, who is enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Samarkand Vocational Training Institute in Uzbekistan, is being interviewed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs press corps. [Joint coverage by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs]

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In particular, the Samarkand Vocational Training Center operates a so-called "1+2 program" in collaboration with Keimyung College University, where students receive one year of local training and then two years of education in Korea to support employment. Bekmurod Holmurodov (18, male), who is studying in the Mechanical Engineering Department, said, "I've always wanted to study in Korea, and my desire to learn Korean led me to choose the vocational training center. If I continue my studies in Korea, I hope to receive more advanced education and get a good job."

Another trainee, Mansur Sultanov (30, male), also expressed his aspirations, saying, "I want to work as hard as Koreans do and help other people and ethnic groups. I also want to become an excellent professor like the instructors who teach us, by studying in Korea."

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