6 September 2022
The choice of school leavers across
Russia has shifted in favour of secondary vocational education, including
thanks to the Professionalism programme
“We
have a very interesting trend today – there is explosive growth in interest in
the secondary vocational education system across the country. In 2020, 60% of
ninth-grade graduates went on to continue their education in vocational
schools. Also, a significant proportion [of graduates – Ed.] went to a vocational
school after graduating the 11th grade. This is, of course, very
good, because these students are the very personnel for the real economy,” Alexander
Bugaev, First Deputy Minister of Enlightenment of the Russian Federation.
“Indeed,
there is a tendency of shifting the focus to secondary vocational education.
And we should pay tribute to the initiatives of the Ministry of Education,
which we gladly supported. I am talking about the Professionalism programme
[The Professionalism federal project launched on 1 September, 2022. It is an
educational experiment of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation
which aims to train qualified specialists with practical knowledge and skills
to work in the real sector of the economy in a short period of time – Ed.],” Aleksey Uchenov,
Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
“Professionalism is an
excellent programme. I believe that it will develop and push universities to be
more flexible in their work with employers,” Boris Korobets, Acting Rector, Far
Eastern Federal University (FEFU).
Universities and employers must work
more closely together when training staff
“The
world is changing very rapidly, and in order to change something in the
educational programme, as has also been noted, many documents need to be
changed. But, in my opinion, the main thing is not the paperwork, not what we
declare as changes, but the essence, the improvement of the quality of
education that universities have to provide today. [Improving the quality of education
– Ed.]
is only possible when the university adapts to the needs of the employer, and
the employer works closely with the university. It is a two-way street,” Boris
Korobets, Acting Rector, Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU).
“This
is a two-way street. <...> In some areas, it is necessary to shape programmes
together with particular employers, while in others we should develop our own
understanding and our own competencies without being tied to them,” Mikhail
Gordin, Acting Rector, Bauman Moscow State Technical University.
PROBLEMS
Inadequate career guidance for students,
resulting in a lack of awareness in choosing a college and future profession
“Career guidance is very important because the problem that the higher
education system has experienced and continues to experience to some extent
even now is that school leavers do not consciously enrol to higher education
institutions. They enrol just for the sake of it. Did you want to go to college?
Why did you go to college? Do you even need this major and this profession?” Alexander
Bugaev, First Deputy Minister of Education of the Russian Federation.
“I'll be honest with you, we, as employers, often encounter many people
who get a job without much thought [after unconsciously getting a major – Ed.],” Dmitry Breytenbikher, Senior Vice
President, Head of Premium Customer Relations, VTB Bank.
Outflow of Russian specialists
working for foreign companies
“Over
the past six months, about once a week, we have been reading reports that this
or that Western company has closed its engineering centre, moved 200, 300, 100,
25 employees to Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Germany, and so on.
But these are our citizens, highly skilled and educated. Why are we losing them
today, why aren't we retaining them?” Denis Kravchenko, Deputy Chairman of the
Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
on Economic Policy.
“We
are working with all the big players who are closing down their production
facilities in Russia and leaving. <...> Every effort is being made so
that our citizens wouldn’t have to go abroad to work,” Tatyana Mineeva, Commissioner
for Entrepreneurs' Rights Protection in Moscow.
SOLUTIONS
Continuous self-education as a way of
adapting to a rapidly changing economy
“In my opinion, the most important quality that needs to be fostered,
and we are trying to foster it in our employees, is constant self-education. In
other words, education should be continuous, lifelong. This is the key to a
person's adaptability in our rapidly changing world,” Dmitry Breytenbikher,
Senior Vice President, Head of Premium Customer Relations, VTB Bank.
“It seems to me that the most important thing is to accept the way
things are and keep self-improving constantly. On the one hand, not everything
is within a person's control, and you have to know your limitations and it
becomes necessary to “Ask the Audience”. On the other hand, if I believe that
tomorrow I can be a little better than today, it will give me the strength to
accept the fact that today I might do something wrong, because I will always
have a chance to continue it tomorrow,” Aleksandra Lebedeva, Deputy Chairman of
the Government of the Kamchatka Territory.
Early career guidance and starting preparation
for future occupational training in schools
“There is a widespread perception that schoolchildren are the future. In
fact, they are not – they are already the present. And training should start at
school, or better yet, even earlier in today's economy,” Alexander Bugaev, First
Deputy Minister of Enlightenment of the Russian Federation.
“I
agree that it is necessary to train personnel from school. There are 222
engineering classes in Moscow, their number increases by 50 classes every year.
We can conclude from this that there is demand for them,
that it is an effective model. There are 141 entrepreneurial classes in Moscow,
I work actively with all Moscow schoolchildren, and I see a demand for teaching
entrepreneurship, for separate IT classes. Moscow schoolchildren are ready to
be embedded in the learning environment with universities and employers. It is
a very good liaison,” Tatyana Mineeva, Commissioner for Entrepreneurs' Rights
Protection in Moscow.
For more information, go to the Roscongress
Information and Analytical System roscongress.org.