In a quiet classroom of the Bandikhan Technical School of Agricultural Technologies (formerly known as Qiziriq Technical School of Agricultural Technologies), in Surkhandarya Uzbeksitan, a group of teachers, administrators, and education managers gather over laptops, deeply engaged in something new — designing an online survey for the tracer study. This is not an ordinary training.
From late April through early May, 2025, UNESCO led a series of capacity-building trainings aimed at equipping staff from four vocational and technical schools in Karakalpakstan, Khorezm, Bukhara, and Surkhandarya with the tools to implement their first Graduate Tracer Studies.
These learning sessions equiped 100 teachers (42 women and 58 men) from all technical schools with the skills to independently design, collect, present and interpret graduate tracer studies — a tool used to evaluate graduate outcomes, measure employability, and assess the alignment of education with labor market needs.
A tracer study, usually conducted six months after graduation, is a powerful method that tracks what happens to students after they graduate: Are they employed? Is their job aligned with what they studied? How relevant was their training? By combining both qualitative and quantitative data, these studies offer critical insights into the effectiveness of vocational education programs.
“We always wanted to know if our students succeeded after leaving us,” said Ms. Dildora Tangriberganova, deputy director at the Qoshkopir college of Water Resources and Melioration in Khorezm region. “But until now, we did not have the tools or knowledge to do it properly. We usually called them on the phone and asked if they had a job. We never analyzed their feedback or experiences. This training helped us understand that alumni voices are essential to improving what we teach.”
Before the training, many of the participating teachers faced serious challenges. In rural areas, internet connectivity is often unstable, and teachers have limited digital literacy. These issues made it difficult to implement modern education tools, lacking experience in using online survey platforms and data analysis.
“At first, the idea of collecting data online felt overwhelming,” shared Ms. Iroda Abdullayeva, a teacher from Surkhandarya. “We did not grow up with these technologies, and using digital tools for education was a new experience for us. But after learning how to create a survey questionary through the simple google form, I felt more confident. It gave me hope that we can adapt, grow, and bring our teaching methods up to date with today’s technology.”
Other educators alsosaidthat this method will help them to see the power of alumni feedback to inform and improve curriculum. To address these gaps, UNESCO’s training focused on practical digital skills — from creating online forms to storing and analyzing data — helping participants build confidence in using modern tools to improve education management.
The first cohort of students from the four vocational and technical schools- who specialized in Irrigation and Agriculture for rural development with an updated competency based curriculum - will graduate in August 2025. Their experiences will be the focus of the first tracer study, set for February 2026.
This initiative is part of the “Skills Development for Employability in Rural Areas of Uzbekistan” project, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNESCO. By equipping educators with practical skills and tools to track graduate outcomes, the project is helping shape a more responsive and relevant vocational education system — one that grows stronger with every insight gained.
