(MENAFN- Asia Times) For over a decade, Kazakhstan has been experiencing a“brain drain” of skilled and educated workers in many key industries. This may be starting to change.
Kazakhstan's economic growth, propelled by oil and gas, has slowed in part due to fluctuations in global commodity prices. The government has attempted to diversify the economy to promote sustainable growth. But inadequate tertiary education has left a massive skills deficit, while many skilled workers have sought greener pastures abroad.
Kazakh officials have attempted to stem the brain drain with policies like the Bolashak program, which provided scholarships to Kazakhs to acquire skills at foreign universities. The program had some success but failed to fill gaps in key sectors like information technology. Some scholars also chose to not return to Kazakhstan for personal or professional reasons.
Unexpectedly,
Russia's invasion of Ukraine
has resulted in massive individual and corporate migration from Russia to Kazakhstan. This is creating a new opportunity for a sustained“brain gain” and economic upgrade. But Kazakh policymakers risk missing this opportunity due to an over-cautious balancing of conflicting policy goals.
Since its invasion of Ukraine, Russia has experienced three large waves of emigration. The first wave included tech workers and vocal opponents of the war fleeing persecution. This began a trend of Russian small and medium enterprises moving to Kazakhstan, with its largest city Almaty a favorite destination. Between January and September 2022, the number of Russian companies in Kazakhstan increased by around 4,000.
A second emigration wave occurred around July 2022. This comprised those who planned to leave at the outset of the war but required longer periods of preparation, such as people with less mobile businesses and families with school-aged children.
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