Employment of STEM graduates in Kazakhstan: current situation

Abstract

The paper analyses the current situation in sphere of STEM graduates’ employment in Kazakhstan who obtained higher and postgraduate education with the STEM profile (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in 2021. The aim of this study is to model the trajectories of STEM graduates directly after their graduation and assess the proportions of labor flows in the context of the national labor market of Kazakhstan. For the research, official statistics from the Bureau of National Statistics on the labor market and universities performance are used. The results of the analysis show that the majority of STEM graduates in Kazakhstan directly after graduation is employed with no connection to the STEM profile of activity. At the same time, for the vast majority of those who get a job related to the STEM profile after graduation, the job is not directly related to the profile of the received education. It has been found that annual enrollment in the STEM segment of the labor market can potentially affect only less than half of the graduates of STEM programs at both undergraduate, graduate, and PhD levels. Statistical data in conjunction with the results of previous qualitative studies made it possible to assess the prerequisites of graduates who focus on the effective use of acquired skills in the labor market. There are disparities associated with the number of STEM graduates, their desire to start a career in STEM fields and the employers’ practice of hiring. Further trajectories of empirical research in STEM training and further employment are suggested, taking into account the limitations of the data sets.

The role of environment on women’s perception about their STEM studies: observations from a Global South country

“…Despite continued initiatives and active participation of the Kazakh government in promoting STEM education by granting scholarships that cover full tuition fees to students, just 43% (17.4 k) of 40.5 k annual STEM graduates in 2021 entered the STEM labour market. Similarly, just around 8% of 38.1 k STEM undergraduate graduates enrolled in related STEM Master's programmes 12 . This phenomenon is referred to as the "leaky pipeline," and it implies that students abandon STEM pursuits at various stages: when STEM high school graduates choose non-STEM majors, when STEM undergraduate students graduate and decide to pursue another discipline at the Master's level, and finally when STEM graduates enter non-STEM careers 13 .…”