In Russia, the problem of a shortage of specialists with working qualifications and professions is fixed, Vladimir Koshelev, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Construction and Housing and Public Utilities, told Izvestia on February 21. He noted that in this regard, he considers the proposal of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin aimed at developing the system of secondary vocational education and training personnel to be timely.
Koshelev said that the results of a survey by the Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences showed that the shortage of personnel has become the main difficulty of Russian enterprises.
“The shortage of “quality workforce” was indicated at the end of 2022 by 55% of companies. In this regard, I consider the proposal of the President of Russia, aimed at developing the system of secondary vocational education and training of personnel, to be very timely,” he specified.
According to the deputy, the country needs to double the number of graduates of construction and technical universities and increase the prestige of working professions.
“For this, in my opinion, it is necessary not only to expand the program “Professionality”, but also to launch an additional direction for training personnel in accordance with the needs of employers. The selection of students for participation in the program should be carried out only on a competitive basis, ”Koshelev believes.
At the same time, the student could have employment guarantees after graduation, an increased scholarship and payment for accommodation during the study period at the expense of business, the deputy added.
“Such a program will allow to “grow” specialists according to a clearly defined “request” of the employer,” he explained.
However, for this it is important to provide employers with a package of incentives, Koshelev said. Among such incentives, he named: compensation for previously incurred costs for training a young specialist after five years from the date of his employment in the organization; a subsidy in the amount of one minimum wage per month for each young specialist after employment at the enterprise for five years; benefits for contributions to the United Social Fund in the amount of 15% of the Wage Fund for each young specialist after employment at the enterprise for five years; reduction of the taxable base for income tax due to the inclusion in the costs of the costs of training young professionals, paying scholarships and grants to teachers.
On February 21, the President of Russia, in his address to the Federal Assembly, proposed returning the specialty to universities.
The Russian leader pointed out that the transition to the new system should be smooth.
Putin also noted that in recent years the prestige and authority of secondary vocational education has grown, and there is a “huge, colossal” demand for graduates of technical schools and colleges. The head of state stressed that in five years it is necessary to train a million professional workers for key industries to ensure the country’s security and competitiveness.
