The contribution of resident educational companies to the IT sector of Uzbekistan

The 21st century is often referred to as the century of information technology. Today, it's almost impossible to imagine anyone's life without technology and gadgets. In Uzbekistan, the IT sector is young and developing, but it's considered promising and in demand.

According to a 2022 review from the largest job search service, HeadHunter.uz, professions from the IT sector are in second place in terms of demand. This trend will continue, as the professions of the future are closely associated with the IT industry and won't lose their relevance in the coming decades.

To ensure that the country has a skilled workforce, it's necessary to establish a strong educational foundation. Specialized centers and courses are being launched throughout the country to achieve this goal.

For example, the number of IT Park resident companies working in the field of education has reached 240 in 2023 - 34 more firms than at the end of 2022. Out of these companies, 206 focus mainly on education. This shows how the sphere of IT education is changing thanks to these resident companies.

Note: This analysis is based strictly on data provided by IT Park resident companies based on their activities in the first quarter of 2023.

Directions of study and courses

In the year 2023, more than 14,300 people completed training through resident companies, and over 5,190 IT professionals were released into the job market.

IT Park resident companies offer more than 400 IT courses, which can be grouped into the following areas:

The distribution of students in the main IT areas for the first quarter of 2023 is as follows:

It is interesting to note that:

• Tashkent is the leader in terms of the number of students attending resident educational companies in all areas.

• in the Fergana region, compared to other regions, the largest number of students attend courses covering the basics of IT and programming.

• the number of students attending design and modeling courses in the Surkhandarya Region is slightly behind the number of students attending similar courses in the Fergana region. Nonetheless, Surkhandarya resident companies hold a leading position in this area.

• Bukhara region's resident companies have the highest number of students enrolling in robotics courses compared to companies in other regions.

• In the Navoi region, the most popular courses in the first quarter of 2023 are those related to mobile application development.

The reports also indicate that, to date, the largest number of students who began their studies in educational centers is in the Khorezm region.

Resident companies delivered the majority of their courses offline, while 13% of the courses were offered in a mixed format (both online and offline), and only a small proportion of courses (4%) were fully online. Notably, 38% of all online and 47% of all blended courses are related to programming. There are currently no online courses available in design and modeling, robotics, and mobile development.

In the first quarter of 2023, 178 people started taking online courses, which accounts for only 1% of the total number of students who started training. Furthermore, 127 people had already completed their studies by the end of the quarter.

The characteristics of the courses in terms of areas of study are, on average, as follows:

Education in IT courses is proving to be fruitful. According to the results of 2023, 1,396 students of educational residents were employed, resulting in a graduate employment rate of 27%. When it comes to the employment of graduates of educational residents by region, the leading position is held by the Namangan region, which makes up 36% of the total number of employed regional residents. The Bukhara region follows closely in second place with 18%, and the Republic of Karakalpakstan comes in third place with only a small margin.

The leading training centers in the republic, in terms of the number of trainees:

1. Najot Ta'lim (Tashkent) - 2,200 people.

Main directions: programming and design;

Tuition for the course: from 7.7 million to 18.4 million soums;

Duration of training: 7-8 months;

2. Scientia Centrum (Tashkent) - 1,100 people.

Main areas: programming and IT basics:

Tuition for the course: from 300,000 to 3,600,000 soums;

Duration of training: 1-6 months;

3. Academy of Information Technologies Step (Tashkent) - 1,077 people:

Main directions: programming, design and robotics;

Tuition for the course: from 9,600,000 to 40,500,000 soums;

Duration of training: 6-45 months.

Human capital

Thanks to resident companies, jobs are being created in the country. Currently, 1,724 people work in resident educational companies on a permanent or temporary basis, more than a third of whom have international certificates. The majority of teachers with international certificates (562 people) are based in Tashkent, accounting for 85% of the total number.

In the IT market, there are approximately 20,000 specialists, out of which 8,300 are programmers. Furthermore, 90% of programmers work in Tashkent. The resident income ratio of IT Park, per unit of hired programmer, amounted to 260 million soums for the first quarter of 2023, meaning that, in theory, the income generated per hired programmer for the company is around 86 million soums per month.

As for the number of programmers in other regions and their share in comparison with resident companies of IT Park in other areas:

1. Fergana Region—160 people (20%);
2. Namangan Region—110 people (14%);
3. Khorezm Region—90 people (11%)

Additionally, 23% of all programmers are foreign citizens, and 99% of them are employed in IT companies located in the capital. Among the regions, the highest number of foreign programmers can be found in the Samarkand region, with a total of 7 people. On average, there are around 10-11 programmers per one IT resident of the park in Tashkent.

Volume of services provided

The total volume of services rendered by resident educational companies in January-March 2023 reached 30.4 billion soums, which is 2 times more than the same period in the previous year (14 billion soums). According to the data, 29 % of the volume of services rendered falls on the regions, and the rest on Tashkent. For comparison: in the same period in 2022, only 11 % of the volume of services rendered by companies accounted for regional companies.

It should be noted that the best income indicators fell on the Fergana, Khorezm, and Tashkent regions. The top three in terms of the volume of services provided for the same period of 2022 included both Khorezm (-1 position in this year, was in 1st place) and Tashkent region (+1 position in this year, was in 2nd place). In turn, the Navoi region left the top three, losing to Ferghana (+1 position, was in 4th place).

The analysis showed that 137 residents in the field of IT education had income in the first quarter of 2023. Only in Jizzakh, Navoi, and Ferghana regions did all residents have income, while in Kashkadarya, Surkhandarya, and Khorezm regions more than half of the residents of the region had no income. According to the results of the quarter, the top 10 companies in terms of income included mainly companies from Tashkent, as well as 2 companies from the Tashkent region and 1 from Khorezm.