Andrey Svinarenko, General Director of the Foundation for Infrastructure and Educational Programs (Rusnano Group), told about how to raise modern highly qualified specialists to RBC +
— How will the development of new industries of the innovation economy affect the labor market, what needs to be changed in the system of personnel training?
— Contradictions between new science-intensive and traditional technologies change the qualification structure of various sectors of the economy. There is a growing need for multidisciplinary specialists with interdisciplinary and interindustry knowledge and skills. For example, employees who are able to work with robotic systems and are able to analyze large data or carry out programming at an advanced level are already in demand. Further robotization and digitization of work processes will free up a number of familiar professions.
According to the World Economic Forum, in the medium term, about 5 million jobs will disappear, and new ones will require fundamentally different skills and knowledge. Studies in this area show that by 2020 almost 35% of basic professional skills will change in all sectors and professions.
You cannot go to the digital economy without a description of the production architecture of traditional and new markets. The first step should be the standardization of professional activities. It is necessary to clearly understand what knowledge and skills are required from a specialist in each segment of the labor market. This will make it possible to change the structure of the training of personnel in higher education institutions, and will contribute to the formation of new professions.
In Russia, a national system of professional qualifications is being formed. Sectoral councils have been created, which, in fact, are involved in the creation of a new market - the qualification market. Our fund has long been institutionally and meaningfully integrated into this process. We, in particular, support the Interindustry Union of Nanoindustry, on the basis of which the Council for Professional Qualifications in the Nanoindustry functions.
— How to adapt to changes in the labor market to the employee himself, to the person?
— The time has passed when the diploma received once guaranteed a successful career. Today, in order to be competitive in the labor market, it is required to regularly confirm your qualifications, improve it, constantly compare your knowledge and skills with new economic challenges.
The main drivers and catalysts for the digital economy will be high-tech developers and techno-entrepreneurs. Therefore, it is necessary to involve a significant part of the population in entrepreneurial and innovative activities. This approach can solve two problems: the employment of employees released as a result of robotization and digitization and stimulation of innovative development of the economy. At the same time, it is important not only to create a qualitatively new specialist, which in principle turns out to be quite good, but also to create conditions for his development and self-realization.
If a person does not renew his qualifications during the working life, he loses his productive potential. According to the National Research University “Higher School of Economics”, in Russia the share of employed involved in the process of retraining is only about 13%, and in the private sector it is even lower. The costs of enterprises for these purposes are about 0.3% of the total labor costs. The training is selective and primarily focused on qualified workers employed in large enterprises, holders of higher education. Thus, those who are in greatest need of retraining - workers and middle-level specialists - are out of access to it. And there is certain regularity - the higher education and qualification, the more a person engages in training and retraining.
— At the beginning of the year, the law “On Independent Qualification Assessment” came into force, which allows to confirm the qualification of an employee in special centers. Will this spur workers to develop professionally or become an additional burden for the individual and for business?
— For business, this will soon become an opportunity to cut costs. The system of qualification assessment gives the employer an opportunity to objectively assess the professional level of the employee, quickly understand whether he is suitable for work at his enterprise, and the employee himself - to determine his prospects in the labor market.
In addition, the law provides for material motivation - tax preferences for both the applicant and the employer. If the cost of passing a professional exam, for example, is 10 thousand rubles, then the applicant will receive in the form of a tax deduction 8.7 thousand rubles. As for the employer, the costs of conducting an independent assessment of employees’ qualifications are taken into account in costs when calculating the taxable base.
It is important that the qualification assessment system not only confirms the knowledge and skills of specialists, but also motivates them to raise it. In this case, the cost of passing an independent qualification assessment can be considered an employee as an investment in their development and career potential. Therefore, additional measures are needed to stimulate people who have successfully passed the professional exam: the advantages of hiring, career growth, salary increase, etc.
— Professional standards are mandatory for a number of employers, including civil service, and for others can be introduced on the basis of legislative recommendations. Are graduate students ready for the fact that when employing an employer can request confirmation of their qualifications?
— Educational programs of universities often do not fully take into account the real demand of the labor market. The results of our last year survey of graduates on the nanotechnology profile showed that the availability of a diploma of education is a confirmation of its qualification in only 41% of young people, and the question: is it sufficient to have a diploma of education for employment in the profile of education? - only 14% of respondents answered affirmatively. Judging by these figures, modern students understand that the knowledge and skills obtained in the university do not always and often do not fully meet the requirements of real production.
Therefore, it is very important to them to convey information about where and how they can confirm their qualifications. And we are dealing with this issue at various venues, which the foundation organizes.
— How relevant is the qualification assessment for the nanotechnology industry and what is the role of the Fund in this work?
— The speed of changes in the transition to a new technological structure is enormous and requires a constant build-up of knowledge and skills of a specialist. Therefore, it is also necessary to evaluate highly qualified specialists.
Joint efforts of the professional community today about 70 new professions in the field of nanoelectronics, nanophotonics, nanomaterials and standardization of innovative products have been created. For a number of it, experts of nanotechnology companies already now can confirm their professional skills in one of the four profile centers for assessing qualifications created in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan with the support of the Foundation. Data for each applicant are entered in the national register of information on the conduct of an independent assessment of qualifications.
