Page 49 - Журнал Sozvezdye Review - «СОЗВЕЗДИЕ» #42

Since 2021, all data concerning staffing figures qualifications we need most are those of stevedores,
and job seekers’ resumes are accumulated on the dock workers, machine operators, tugboat captains
unified digital platform “Work in Russia”. As of the and replacement captain assistants.
20th of July 2023, it lists 11,200 vacancies available Arkhangelsk Sea Commercial Port welcomes every
in Arkhangelsk Region and 8,300 resumes. opportunity to attract skilled workers. We post our va-
The jobs that have most shortages in Arkhan- cancies on our website, social networks and dedicated
gelsk, as elsewhere in Russia, include medical worker, platforms, and we attend career fairs and offer intern-
teacher, engineer, accountant, salesperson, cook, se- ships as a way to meet more potential candidates.
curity guard, driver, and fitter. As to the shipbuilding Our human resource policy is largely contingent
and ship repair industry, it suffers from the short- on our load and external influence, requiring us to
age of pipefitters, assemblers, turners, electricians stay flexible. During peak load periods, we attract
and electric fitters, radio electronic equipment fit- shift workers and are more reliant on contractors
ters, carpenters, hull assemblers and repair workers, to provide us with manpower. By doing so, we have
among others. so far been able to cope well with fluctuations and
The labor market is known to the very slow to maintain performance.
change. In twenty years’ time, ships will continue to We know how important staff training is and
be built, serviced and repaired by humans, as they are investing in it. Quality staff training is key to
did twenty years ago. One thing what will be chang- our success and productivity. As an executive, I un-
ing, however, is technologies and scope of workplace derstand it may be difficult for smaller businesses to
tasks. Workers will have to learn new skills to op- source funding for this purpose, but I also know that
erate the new technologies. Adding to the staffing they can do it, too, even if within a limited scope. It’s
problem is the unfavourable demographic situation, largely a matter of prioritizing and targeting those
population outflow, and the need to find adequate areas of study that will guarantee the highest possi-
replacement to the ageing employees. To prevent the ble increase in staff development and corporate pro-
negative scenario, algorithms are being developed by ductivity. It might be wise to ask your more experi-
national and regional authorities, facilitated through enced employees to host in-house training sessions
the use of digital technologies, for adequate estima- as a way to pass on the skills and knowledge to new
tion and forecast of industries’ staffing needs. hires. There should be sufficient flexibility in address-
ing each given training need, for conditions tend to
Oleg Rusinov, Arkhangelsk Minister of Education: vary.
The task before our region’s vocational education Demographic issues represent another challenge
system is to provide the local industries with quali- for human resource managers. As our society is age-
fied manpower, responding promptly to the changes ing, we are likely to expect labor shortage, retirement
in the labor market. Arkhangelsk Ministry of Educa- age increase, and deficit of skilled manpower. In this
tion is working to increase state-funded enrollment context, efforts to attract and train younger profes-
in Mechanical Engineering. In 2024 there will be 60 sionals are key to achieving greater sustainability.
more government-funded places in vocational edu- Another trend to be expected in the next 10 to
cation sector than in previous year. 15 years is for technologies to evolve. With produc-
Our strategy for modernizing the vocational ed- tion automation entering new levels, the demand for
ucation sector puts special focus on upgrading the highly qualified experts in IT and engineering will
schools’ physical infrastructure. Consistent efforts only be increasing. At the same time, any increase in
towards this goal have been made in cooperation the use of robot-assisted technologies will reduce de-
with employers since 2020. Improvements target also mand for physically demanding jobs. In anticipation
the vocation training for jobs in defense industry, of these changes, it might be wise for employers to:
with the infrastructure upgrade plan scheduled for – stay updated on the current trends and predict
completion in 2026. future staffing needs; SOZVEZDYE #42
Also, together with employers, Arkhangelsk Gov- – focus on those training programs that teach
ernment is applying to the Russian Ministry of Educa- skills consistent with the needs of the market and кадры
tion’s national project “Professionalism” that can grant emerging technologies;
us funding for the start, in 2024 at Severodvinsk-based – try to attract young talent by offering, among staff
Shipbuilding and Mechanical Engineering School, of other things, internship places and by cooperating
the machine engineering training cluster. with schools; and
– revise recruitment and personnel management
Tsetsen Goryaev, Arkhangelsk Sea Commercial policies in line with changes in employment market.
Port, Director General: These steps will lead to better preparedness for
The shortage of workers and engineers is faced the upcoming change and can help to make HR man- 47
by many businesses, and we are no exception. The agement more effective.