A global shift toward vocational education is gaining momentum. Practical skills have become the key currency in today’s labor market. Why is this happening now, and why are skilled trades once again at the peak of popularity?
According to various studies cited by the Kaspi newspaper, vocational training is clearly on the rise.
Generation Z values hands-on skills and experience more than a diploma alone. Experts from the International Labour Organization note that today’s students want to enter the workforce faster instead of spending years only on theory.
Several factors are driving this shift. Skilled trades are no longer seen as “second-class” professions. Modern technologies make industrial jobs more complex and more attractive. Young people increasingly understand that a university degree does not guarantee success.
Companies need qualified workers, and demand for skilled blue-collar and frontline staff remains consistently high. In most developed and developing countries, graduates of vocational schools can be confident they will not be left without work. What about Azerbaijan?
From 13 to 78
Azerbaijan is following the same trend. In 2026, 105.5 million manats have been earmarked for vocational education, reflecting higher expectations for the system. Since 2011, the number of entrants has grown by 113%. In 2024, about 26,000 applicants chose vocational education – a 17% increase year-on-year – and in the 2025/2026 academic year the number of students has already exceeded 27,000. The age range is wide: the average entrant is 21, the youngest is 13, and the oldest is 78.
This growing interest demands modern infrastructure. Older buildings are being renovated, and new ones are under construction. Modernization is underway within the broader Social and Economic Development Strategy. In parallel, the government is developing new mechanisms for quality assurance and an ethics code for students and teachers. Plans include revising teachers’ pay to strengthen motivation.
By 2030, around 30% of in-demand skills are expected to be updated under the impact of artificial intelligence, robotics and other technologies. To keep pace, Azerbaijan is actively revising its professional standards. There are currently about 1,500 standards; by 2026 that figure should reach 1,800.
Special attention is given to the regions, especially the liberated territories. To stimulate training there, a 20% per-capita top-up is applied to funding. The Karabakh Vocational Training Center, together with private providers, is offering targeted courses aligned with current needs.
The End of the “Higher Education Cult”?
Local experts say vocational education has finally shed its outsider status and emerged from the stagnation that began in the late Soviet period. They attribute this to a focus on quality, practice-oriented training, and alignment with labor market needs.
Jamaladdin Ismayilov, adviser to the chairman of the Republican Union of Trade Unions of Service and Industry Workers, notes:
“The structure of our education system is such that many young people simply do not study at all. Everyone needs a profession, but you don’t have to spend years with private tutors and fight your way into a university at any cost. The main thing is to master a sought-after specialty. Today, electricians, mechanics, and repair technicians earn decent incomes – and real professionals have a queue of clients.”
He adds that until recently many people were embarrassed to admit they studied at a technical college or vocational school because there was a genuine “cult” of higher education.
“It’s good that the situation is changing. Demand for ‘golden hands’ is growing. I know cases where people went abroad, their university diplomas turned out to be useless, but a concrete trade allowed them to find stable work and support their families,” Ismayilov says.
Skills Need Real Workplaces
Ismayilov stresses that modern vocational training cannot be built on lectures alone. Institutions must be fully equipped with up-to-date equipment and train people only for real market needs. Employers, he argues, should play a key role by shaping training programs for their own workforce needs. The state, in turn, could encourage companies that hire graduates immediately after graduation through tax incentives.
“Many new enterprises are being built in Azerbaijan, including joint ventures, and they need people who can work in new production environments,” he says.
“Specialists are especially needed in machine-building and the food industry. At the same time, there are still not many large enterprises capable of employing large numbers of people. It is crucial that every graduate’s skills find long-term, practical application. New facilities must provide stable jobs, not close a few months after the ribbon-cutting.”
Professions linked to ecology are also in demand, while healthcare remains consistently relevant – nurses, dental technicians and elder-care specialists are all needed.
As for cutting-edge fields such as robotics and artificial intelligence, Ismayilov is cautious. Before training such specialists at scale, he believes, Azerbaijan must clearly understand where exactly these graduates will be able to apply their knowledge in practice.
