Developing the Atlas of Future Professions: Uniting Government, Business, and Education

In the context of a rapidly changing labour market driven by digitalization, new technologies, artificial intelligence, and production automation, identifying industry trends and forecasting future professions has become a crucial step in training in-demand specialists.

This topic was the focus of the foresight session “Atlas of New Professions of the North Kazakhstan Region”, held at Kozybayev University. The event brought together representatives of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, local executive authorities, businesses, and educational institutions, including colleges and universities, in an open dialogue aimed at shaping the region’s Atlas of Future Professions. Another key objective is to strengthen the role of the Regional Human Resources Demand Map as a core tool for planning education and employment systems.

Taking into account the specifics of the regional economy and the needs of major enterprises, the session focused on identifying future professions, skills, and competencies that should already be integrated into new educational programs, as well as adjusting existing curricula. Equally important was determining which specialties are likely to become obsolete and leave the labour market.

Kozybayev University has become a central platform for implementing the program “Mamandygym – Bolashagym”, with a regional office established on its basis. The program has been implemented by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education since 2019 under the instruction of the Head of State and began with the development of sectoral atlases of new professions and competencies.

In his video address to participants, Minister Sayasat Nurbek noted that the foresight session serves as a platform where experts analyze regional economic trends and define the profile of future specialists.

He emphasized that educational institutions will be able to respond in a timely manner to labour market demands, while citizens will gain a clearer understanding of promising educational and career paths. He also highlighted the importance of applying methodologies such as Rapid Foresight and Skills Technology Foresight, under which nine sectoral atlases and five regional skills maps have already been developed.

For the North Kazakhstan Region, three main priority sectors were identified for atlas development: agriculture, construction, and industrial engineering.

Kozybayev University currently offers 28 innovative educational programs (12 of which were launched in 2025), implements dual education, and has introduced an industrial PhD doctoral program.

Chairman of the Executive Board – Rector Yerbol Issakayev emphasized:

“Our goal is that, based on the results of such foresight sessions, in-depth analysis, and interviews, we will clearly understand which professions and educational programs need to be created so that our graduates remain in demand and can work at modern enterprises in the future.”

Participants noted that the key task today is to accurately forecast and deeply analyze the needs of the regional economy, emerging professions, and required competencies in order to ensure an education system focused on advanced workforce training.

As a result of the foresight session “Atlas of New Professions of the North Kazakhstan Region”, proposals were developed for the introduction of 23 educational programs. Among the most in-demand future professions in the region are: green construction engineer, cybersecurity specialist, UAV specialist, chemical production control specialist, AI engineer, and others.