Kazakhstan’s domestic economy might not lack hydrocarbon resources, but it seems as with all the investment abound, an acute shortage of skills becomes ever more evident.

The landmarks of tertiary education in Kazakhstan, modern and Western-style institutions (like for instance KIMEP), focus heavily on social sciences and management, but what is needed most now are quite practical crafts:

Highly skilled non-professional occupation experts like woodmen, carpenters, crane operators, piplelayers, bulldozer drivers, mechanical trades, repairers, drivers, turners, millers, maintaining operators, etc are of strong demand for at present.

While for many of these professions, job applicants wouldn’t need a university degree, there is another side to this. If Kazakhstan was to import less human capital from abroad (especially in the extractive industries), it could need some more ‘homegrown’ engineers that are up-to-date with the newest tools and technical developments.

And, in general, Kazakhstan’s higher education performance is quite bad. There has been a radical decline in public expenditure towards universities in essence reducing the real expenditures by about 70% between 1992 and 2002. For more background on the financial situation of Kazakh institutions of higher education, read this PDF. Also, a recent report by USAID can help put Kazakh education spending into perspective:

Particularly low is the spending on tertiary education; at 10.2 percent of per capita GDP in 2002, it is less than half of the LMI-FSR average and less than a third of the average for all LMI countries; the gaps with expenditure per student in tertiary education relative to Bulgaria and Romania are similar.

However, a large amount of money is being spent on high-profile scholarships, i.e. the Bolashak program, through which around 100 students are studying mainly in the US and Europe each year, mainly in the social sciences and management.

Nevertheless, that shouldn’t mean that Kazakhstan cannot offer competitive education prospects to its citizens at all. That’s also proven by the relatively large number of international students studying there (see this for an Indian perspective). However, the little amount of cash being spent on the future labour force of the country is worrying, especially in those sectors showing the highest growth rates and future potential:

For Kazakhstan to achieve transformational growth and reduce its dependence on oil, more emphasis should be given to higher education. Such efforts are necessary to stay competitive in the region with a highly educated labor force.
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According to the World Bank, far more flexibility and lifelong learning opportunities are needed soon to keep skill shortages from becoming a serious impediment to growth.

The outlook for the Kazakh economy could darken because right now, the country is far too relient on oil and is not taking off in other sectors that could also cushion the negative aspects of the ‘Dutch Disease’. Already, analysts say that the spectacular GDP growth rates are due to high oil prices and are eventually unsustainable. From that same RFE/RL article:

In addition, he adds, the ailing education system is unable to produce high-quality specialists, and therefore the national economy is likely to face a scarcity of qualified resources in the future.

Let’s remind the Kazakh government of one of its own statements:

Reformation of the educational system by opening it up to the world knowledge and experience, scientific and technological achievements by training highly qualified professionals with the best managerial skills always helps to transform the society into a progressive and democratic one.

It’s all a matter of priorities. Certainly, projects like this one are good for the psyche, but the money spent on the facade might be worth much more inside the brains of future generations.