Rashad Nabiyev: 'We are focused on Hire and Train program'

The Azerbaijani government is focused on the Hire and Train program, Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Nabiyev said at a meeting dedicated to the unified action plan "Azerbaijan's New Digital Architecture," chaired by President Ilham Aliyev, Report informs.

"Both the capacity building of our universities and the state program for studying abroad are among the factors directly stimulating the development of this ecosystem. The special attention paid in recent years to the exact sciences and information technology will ensure an influx of new labor into the ecosystem in the very near future. At the same time, the ministry and other relevant agencies, including the Ministry of Science and Education, have organized short-term courses, which have benefited approximately 16,000 young people in Azerbaijan," he noted.

He noted that, however, the knowledge gained through training has a certain limit: "Therefore, we are now focusing on the Hire and Train program. This program involves attracting foreign companies to Azerbaijan and providing them with specific contracting agreements. We are already working with two such companies – Anderson and EPAM, both from the US."

The minister also stated that the same approach used by the mygov platform in government-citizen relations is being applied to government-business interactions: "The legislative framework for this has already been created, and in the coming months, mygov business will be available for use by entrepreneurs. This project is being implemented jointly with EPAM. The condition we have set is as follows: for the $100 we provide, they attract external contractors to Azerbaijan for a comparable amount - another $100. Our specialists, while working on projects within the country, simultaneously participate in international projects, gaining international experience. How do we envision the outcome? If, out of the approximately 1,000 or 2,000 people working here, 5-10 create startups, and at least some of them are successful - in any field - this will effectively become a key step toward achieving our ultimate goal: increasing the current $100 million to one or even several billion."