Work Obligation

According to the order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated October 30, 2018, No. 595 "On the Approval of Model Rules for the Activities of Educational Organizations of Corresponding Types," the University ensures the employment of at least 50% of graduates within the year of graduation. At the same time, the university ensures the monitoring of the number of job placements secured by graduates. 50% of student employment depends on the university.

In the last 10 years, only the length of work obligation has changed. About two years ago, the Ministry of Health proposed that medical professionals should only apply for state-funded residency programs. If they later enroll in the residency program on a paid basis, they are not exempt from the work obligation. There have been no significant changes in the law from the Ministry of Science and Education. If any approved changes are made to the law, we will be sure to notify you.

Until 2021, certain categories could only work in state institutions. After 2021, the law "Law on Education" was enacted on January 8, 2021, Article No. 47 with amendments, paragraph No. 17, stating that certain categories may work off their obligations in private institutions. This law affects not only those who have graduated but also those young specialists who have already fulfilled their government grant obligations.

If this worsens the performance of young specialists, then the implementation of the law will only affect future graduates. Graduates who were already working at the time the law was implemented had different conditions at the time of enrollment and also at the time of graduation. If the implementation of the law worsens the situation for already working graduates, then the law will not apply to them.

A commission is being established at universities to allocate graduates by July 1, 2024. The redistribution will take place in September, but each university has the right to set its own deadlines for accepting documents from young specialists. Let's assume that a young specialist, who completed their studies in June and has already been assigned, enrolls in a master's program at a university in Kazakhstan in September. In that case, he has the right to take the enrollment order or a certificate from the place of study and submit it to Nazarbayev University. It is necessary to specify in advance the deadlines for acceptance of enrolment documents for further education. The specific deadlines for submitting documents should be clarified at the university where you studied, as the commission is formed at a specific time in each institution.

The Job Placement Committee for the June 2024 graduation was already created at the beginning of the year. If a young specialist enrolls at the university in the same year they graduated, they must submit a document to the commission. The commission has the right to release him. If a student has already begun fulfilling work obligations and decides to pursue further education in the following year or two years after graduation, the commission no longer has the right to exempt them. In 2025, a new commission will be formed that will be responsible for the distribution of young specialists graduating in 2025; they will not consider the release of previous graduates. When enrolling in studies in the following years, there is an option to combine work (part-time) and education. The work experience should not be interrupted for three years after graduation. The Financial Center does not look at the position or the salary of a working graduate. If a young specialist is unable to balance work and study, they will have to repay the amount spent by the Government on their education, proportional to the remaining time after completing a certain period of work.

Yes, if you work online or have an individual entrepreneurship, and you receive pension contributions monthly. It doesn't matter that you are not physically in Kazakhstan; this does not prevent the Financial Center from accepting the work obligation

The employer can provide the student with a certificate from the workplace, and the pension contributions will be deducted from the individual entrepreneur's account. If a student opens individual entrepreneurship on his name and then directs pension contributions from his own name, the Financial Center may have doubts regarding the individual entrepreneurship. In this case, the question arises – does the student send the pension contributions himself, or is he unemployed and counting the pension contributions in his own name? If a student is not working anywhere, not registered anywhere, and does not have an individual entrepreneurship, and they themselves submit the internship report, then this work does not count towards the required hours. When a young specialist is the director of their own individual entrepreneur (IE) and sends the notification of employment from their IE, the notifications of the opening of the IE are accepted for the probation period. If a student is an employee of an individual entrepreneur, not the director, then the management will provide the OPV from the individual entrepreneur's account. The director of the individual entrepreneur can also provide a certificate with the medical report for the student.

According to the law, medical specialties are only practiced in healthcare organizations. Given this case, the Financial Center will accept the WO. We also accept the work of doctors in military hospitals, provided there is a confirming document that the student is indeed working as a doctor in that organization, even if that organization is not related to healthcare.

Yes, they can, if the given research center is accredited. The charter must specify that the organization is engaged in scientific activities.

Regardless of the category and type of medical center, the organization must operate in the field of healthcare. For example, dentists can open their own individual entrepreneurship, educators can establish their private schools, language courses, and so on. The financial center is paying attention to the organization's activities.

The Ministry of Health requires that young specialists work specifically in their field within healthcare organizations. Taking into account that the Financial Center refers to the Rules and the Law on Education, paragraph 17, which states that a young specialist must work in the healthcare sector, regardless of position and salary. The financial center accepts such work experience not specifically related to the field, as long as it is in the healthcare sector.

Yes, it will be counted.

Yes, it is possible to change jobs during the probation period within three years. The young specialist will need to contact the manager of the Financial Center and inform them about the change of workplace. The Financial Center is making changes to its database regarding the place of work.

If at the time of allocation the student was not pregnant, then she is directed to work or to the employment center. She is getting employed or registering with the employment center by September 1st. Those who are employed must definitely go on maternity leave with job protection. The young specialist must inform the Financial Center about their status and that their workplace has been preserved for them. This translation will be counted by the Financial Center as part of the three-year work experience for maternity leave. If a young specialist has not managed to find employment and is simply registered at the employment center, she can apply to the Commission at the university for an exemption from the WO due to pregnancy. If a young specialist was assigned to work but is not employed and simply goes on maternity leave without job preservation, then the Commission does not have the right to exempt her from the service obligation. In this case, she must either get a job and go on maternity leave or pay for the cost of her education. If she is not working anywhere and the Employment Center removes her from the records, it will be considered a violation, and there will be further legal proceedings. Based on the court's decision, the amount spent on such a graduate during the use of the government grant will be recovered. Graduates should approach this issue diligently, and all stages must be completed.

It is necessary to provide a marriage certificate, a certificate from the spouse's workplace, a residence certificate indicating where he/she is registered, and additional documents upon the request of the Commission.

In this case, the graduate is not exempt from the mandatory service. You will need to reimburse the amount for the education. If you do not reimburse the amount spent on education and leave the country, the Supreme Court will still find you through the embassy and may impose restrictions on your accounts/travel bans to other countries, etc.

Let's discuss this case with our lawyers and then inform you of the decision.

This issue was discussed with the lawyers of the Financial Center earlier, and it was decided that the young specialist is required to provide a document (a letter of guarantee) stating that regardless of completing the language course, the graduate will be accepted for further studies at this university in any case within a year. If the university does not guarantee 100% enrollment for further studies after completing the language course, then the Commission has no right to exempt from the work obligation.

If a student is taking language courses at the university, it already means that they have been admitted there and are currently studying, regardless of the academic cycle.

The main thing is to submit the documents to the commission. All dates, deadlines, and so on will be communicated to the graduates by Balzhan Bektursinova, Senior Manager of CAC, via the WorkObligation email. A strong request to graduates to carefully read all emails that come from WorkObligation.

The commission provides documents confirming the admission of a young specialist to further education, regardless of the format of study in the current year.

If the company is located in Kazakhstan, then yes, it is possible. There are cases when graduates work while simultaneously applying for a master's program through Bolashak. In this case, the employer writes an official letter to the Financial Center stating that the young specialist's job is being held and that he is currently undergoing training in another country. The work will continue to be counted

A graduate must definitely receive a diploma. Only after the completion of training will the practice be counted.

A young specialist, after completing their education, is required to work off the amount spent on their training from the state budget. The Financial Center has not encountered such cases in practice so far. In the event of a graduate being expelled from the university, the Financial Center ceases its monitoring.

This is a controversial issue. The probation period will most likely be accepted. Nevertheless, the lawyers at the Financial Center will need to personally review your request. Before applying for a job, please check with the Financial Center whether they will accept your work experience from a certain company, mentioning the name and BIN of the company in advance.

Yes, the deadline for submitting documents is May 25 for graduates of other specialties. Those students who plan to pursue further education are usually directed to employment centers in their registered regions during the distribution period. The graduate is given time until September 1 to enroll in studies. At the September meeting of the Commission, the members review the enrollment order, vote, and grant exemptions from service. In that case, based on the provided document (enrollment order/extract from the enrollment order/certificate from the place of study), the graduate may be exempted in September. If you do not enroll in a program by September, then you will need to look for a job.

Yes, there have been such cases in practice. The commission exempted from service. By the end of the current year, it will be necessary to submit the order for enrollment.

The number of state grants received by a student has no relation to the Financial Center. Upon re-enrollment in the master's program, the fulfillment of the first state grant is completely annulled. The young specialist will have to complete their second state grant after finishing their studies – 3 years.

In this case, the graduate is exempt from the service requirement for their bachelor's degree due to their enrollment in further studies. After completing his master's degree, he will have to fulfill the state grant for the next program – three years.

The commission for the distribution of young specialists and PhDs is established for one year, from January to December of the current year. Let's say you graduate in June. The Commission assigns you after signing documents at the Center for Employment (direction to the Employment Center, consent, and commitment to three years of service). All documents are sent to the Financial Center, and then in the summer, you begin further studies. After enrolling in the training program (July/August), in September you will bring a confirmation document. CAC after gathering all the documents, prepares them for the Commission meeting, which will take place periodically from September to December. A certain number of documents are being reviewed at the meeting, and based on them, graduates are exempted from serving their time. Let's assume that by the end of September, 150 certificates have been collected, and these 150 graduates are released at the Commission meeting by the end of September. The collected documents for October are reviewed at a meeting at the end of October, and they are then released.

Before the committee meeting, few people bring a certificate from their workplace, so a request from a potential employer is welcomed and accepted. The petition states that a certain company is requesting to send a certain graduate who is completing their studies in 2024 in a specific field to us for a position. It must be stated: "We commit to keeping this graduate's position until September 1 of the current year." The commission must be confident that the employer is waiting for the graduate. Based on this document, the Commission will assign the young specialist to this organization. The commission is initially waiting for a document from the graduate (a certificate from the workplace). If the certificate from the workplace is not provided, then only in that case will the graduate be reassigned to the employment center by the Commission.

The graduate receives a release from their alma mater, so all documents for the release from service (the order of enrollment in studies, the conclusion from the medical commission, documents from the service and the spouse's place of residence) are submitted to CAC, to Bektursinova Balzhan.

After 36 months, the young specialist can contact the Financial Center themselves to clarify whether their service obligation has been fulfilled based on pension contributions for the period. If there were breaks during the 36 months, the work period may be proportionally extended. An SMS notification should be sent confirming that the service period is completed, or the young specialist can submit a request, and the Financial Center will provide a certificate of completion of the service period.

If you personally make pension contributions on your behalf, the Financial Center will not count your work experience. Pension contributions should be paid from the account of the individual entrepreneur or from the organization where you work. It’s better to clarify individually with the Foreign Embassy at the Financial Center whether the work will be counted or not.

It will be necessary to review the document provided by the organization and to inquire individually about the organization at the Financial Center.

The requirements for mandatory three years of service do not apply to the graduates of 2022.

A young specialist can be exempted from the mandatory service only if they enroll in further education in the same year they graduate.

No. If a student is expelled from a university before completing their studies, they are not required to repay the state grant. The internship will only be included if you continue your studies in a similar program at another university for a period of 1-2 years. Upon completing your studies, you will be required to fulfill a three-year service obligation. If your student contract includes a clause stating that you must reimburse the cost of education in case of expulsion, then the university itself will notify you about this. At Nazarbayev University, it's unlikely that this will happen, but still, it's necessary to individually study the student contract.

If a young specialist is released after enrolling in further education, they will not reimburse the amount for their bachelor's degree in the event of expulsion.

No. If you are enrolling abroad for a master's program, you should not reimburse anything, as you have been expelled. Only upon resuming their studies should the young specialist fulfill their grant obligations.

If a graduate has fully completed their studies under the "Alash" grant and did not switch to a state grant, then they do not have any obligations to fulfill. If a graduate is transferred from the "Alash" grant to a state grant, the service time will apply, and it will be calculated according to a specific formula. If 1 year was studied on Alash, and 3 years on a state grant, then the service obligation will be calculated proportionally to the period of study on the state grant. The training period under the "Alash" grant will not be counted towards the work obligation.

Yes, at the time of allocation, it will be necessary to provide a document about further education or a certificate from the workplace. An email will be sent from WorkObligation@nu.edu.kz to graduating students with information about deadlines and documents related to their work obligations. Nazarbayev University graduates three cohorts of students: in June, September, and January. Graduates of the June class must submit their documents by September 1st. Graduates of the September and January cohorts will begin their service two months after signing the service agreement. Let's assume you graduate in January, and you sign the documents on January 25th. According to the law, within three days after the Distribution Commission is held, you must sign three documents (a work assignment, consent, and commitment). In two months, the work period begins, so please provide the documents by March 25th.

Yes, he will be released. Regardless of the type of further education and regardless of the university's location, the resident may be exempted.

Yes, a certificate from the workplace will be sufficient. You can directly contact the Financial Center, specifically the manager who oversees your work. You will need to provide a certificate to the FC manager every six months for three years.