How to Provide the Russian Economy with the Qualified Personnel?
KEY CONCLUSIONS
The Professionalism federal programme is helping to provide a thorough grounding for college graduates
“The Professionalism programme was approved by the President, and is already in place, which is important. <...> The programme is all about training professionals. We’ll give a young person a chance to go straight into production, to join an enterprise within 2.5 years. There will be no need for them to retrain. Most important of all, we must get away from the harmful practice of college students finishing their studies or retraining on the job. The secondary vocational education system needs to train a specialist who is ready to go. <...> We can already see how much this programme is in demand – it’s an enormous competitive process. And indeed, in 2.5 years, starting from the first month of training, a person receives a practical grounding in a specific industry,” Sergei Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation.
“Employers are interested in getting high-quality workers who are familiar with the relevant equipment and are able to handle it from day one, while also working with people they know. That’s why they must get to know the company during their training. And a future worker should know what specific job they are aiming towards, and what the requirements of the job are. That’s the key to success; that’s what makes these programmes effective,” Andrey Komarov, Co-Chairman of the Committee for Vocational Training and Professional Qualifications, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
A high-quality college education cannot be provided without the participation of companies
“The education system should offer the highest level of quality and offer as much practical training as possible. That is why we encourage investors at this Forum, as potential employers, to join us in a dialogue to build a consolidated legal framework – one that will reflect your needs, your interests, and your understanding. The aim of this is to build long-term ties with potential students and workers, and to bring you and the young generation under the guarantee system. Specific guarantees and stability are important to investors and any individual,” Irina Yarovaya, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
“We are all in favour of the Professionalism initiative. We play an active role in this process, and we fully support this approach. What’s more, it is our belief that without the active input of employers – be they large companies, or any others – this idea would simply never get off the ground. It would die and slowly waste away,” Dmitriy Shahanov, Deputy Director General, Russian Railways.
PROBLEMS
Targeted recruitment campaigns in the secondary vocational education system suffer from a lack of transparency
“Everyone highlights targeted recruitment. What does it look like? It all looks very grey. It looks like a secretive contractual system initiated by who knows who, involving who knows who, and about who knows what. And nobody ends up going to work. <...> Today an individual approach is taken, with opportunities offered to some or other young person. And again, it’s very much an opaque and secretive system,” Irina Yarovaya, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
The secondary vocational education system suffers from outdated equipment and teaching methods
“We realize that even the RUB 30 billion allocated for the programme by the President is not remotely sufficient, given the fact that nothing was funded for 30 years. Equipment and infrastructure are all hugely outdated. And on top of this, nobody has focused on the teachers for a long time, and teaching methods are lagging far behind. Every year, we conduct a survey. Whatever the year, employers register a level of dissatisfaction with the quality of teaching for their future workers of more than 50%,” Andrey Komarov, Co-Chairman of the Committee for Vocational Training and Professional Qualifications, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
SOLUTIONS
Developing an online platform for targeted recruitment featuring a transparent competitive process
“Employers will be able to use this platform [focusing on recruiting and specially training graduates – ed.] to advertise their openings. Incidentally, we work in close cooperation with Rosatom, Russian Railways, and Rostec, and all of them are overwhelmingly in favour of this. That’s because this open form of advertising gives them the chance to choose. <...> And they can sign a contract with a candidate upon the conclusion of the competitive process. First of all, this allows the employer to specify additional academic performance criteria. Secondly, it allows them to provide practical training. Thirdly, it allows them to set up mentorship programmes. And fourthly, it allows them to offer additional training modules. And regions which are also interested in attracting a particular specialist can be offered an additional social package,” Irina Yarovaya, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.
Providing young specialists with affordable housing
“The very important point of housing was raised. Considering our people’s mentality, housing – getting a flat – is the main asset a person will have in their lifetime. So, giving a young person the chance to have their own home, to get a flat, is vital. I would suggest examining the experience laid out in Federal Law 161. This specifies that state-owned land can be put into use and provided to a housing construction cooperative made up of employees. Essentially, the land is transferred free of charge, with a residential building already under construction on it,” Alexei Uchenov, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
“We absolutely support things like subsidized mortgages. We have used it ourselves. Our young specialists can benefit from a 2% subsidized mortgage without having to provide a down payment. This sort of thing really does tempt people, so to say, and enables them to get a proper footing,” Dmitriy Shahanov, Deputy Director General, Russian Railways.
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