Page 51 - Журнал Sozvezdye Review - «СОЗВЕЗДИЕ» #37

Anton Krushelnitsky,
Director General at Arkhangelsk Fleet
Repair and Maintenance Base:
The current vocational education system
has a huge gap between theoretical training
and practice. Students visit industries only
rarely as the curricula offer only limited op-
portunities for on-site tours. This means that
employers have to do the practical teaching
themselves. These are the employers who are
looking to fill in this gap in the first place. Ne-
gotiations are currently in process between
S. N. Oreshkov Arkhangelsk College of Wa-
terways and Arkhangelsk Fleet Repair and
Maintenance Base to use the latter as a host
for on-site training. Hopefully, this can help to
improve students’ hands-on skills. But, there is
another problem: we don’t have enough young
people to fill job shortage. The average age of
Arkhangelsk Oblast is currently working on its our own employees is forty plus. We need more
workforce strategy. The strategy relies, among oth- welders, assemblers, turners. Finding a replace-
er things, on labor market analysis and may lead to ment for retired employees is, indeed, a prob-
changes in the area’s actual demand in certain occu- lem. While earlier, when the Soviet Union was
pational qualifications and vocational training frame- channeling its propaganda efforts into promot-
works. ing the working jobs, people did know their
“The first steps towards the improved industri- importance, the young people of today choose
al personnel are already being taken – through the to be bloggers or live off passive income in-
collaborative effort of the industries, the government stead of doing some real work. Arkhangelsk
and the education providers,” says Marina Simakina, is a maritime city. But do its younger genera-
Director for Learning Support at Arkhangelsk Voca- tions actually know about its shipbuilding and
tional School of Construction and Economics. “Be- marine industry? This is an endemic problem
ginning on September 1, 2021, my school delivers a that needs to be brought up at the government
program in dock engineering. Its theoretical courses level and education as a system. People should SOZVEZDYE #37
alternate with work experience and on-site training. be introduced to working jobs when they are
Workplace learning is where we need employers’ ma- school kids. They should be told why working
terial support most.” jobs are important and what level of wages to
“Now that Arkhangelsk is a major link in the Arc- expect. There should be proper propaganda in развитие
tic supply chain, its ports and terminals have an in- the media, while industries can be advised to development
creased workload and need more crews,” says Sergey give a greater input to reviving the prestige of
Smirnov, Director at Sozvezdye Association of Oil working jobs by organizing on-site tours, in-
and Gas Suppliers. “It’s essential to have training pro- viting specialists to deliver the on-site career
viders prepared to respond to the employers’ actual guidance classes, and investing in curricula de-
needs flexibly and promptly. Their cooperation is key velopment and training centers. 49
to the successful development of regional industry.”