The new decade will require workers to be ready for serious retraining, continuing education and the development of existing skills. RT spoke about this at the All-Russian Research Institute of Labor.

According to the specialists of the institute, such competencies (regardless of the specific specialization), such as the ability to analyze, solve complex non-standard tasks, receive and interpret information, work with it, and also the ability to communicate, will have a regular advantage in the modern labor market.

“The key to success is absolutely that a person studies throughout his working life. Of course, this applies to varying degrees to different categories of workers, but generally it applies to everyone. Competitiveness in the labor market depends on how much the employee expands his competence, monitors the changes that occur in his profession, and learns new things. And for this it is necessary to meet the dynamically changing requirements of the modern labor market, to constantly update your knowledge and skills, ”the specialists of the All-Russian Research Institute of Labor note.

In addition, technical and informational progress will continue to influence the development of the labor market. By the beginning of the 2020s, the emergence of many new professions was associated with the introduction of digital technologies, experts recalled. For example, the development of Internet technologies has led to a significant update in the content of existing professions and to the emergence of new ones, including a “specialist in the integration of cloud applications” and a “specialist in big data”.

With the introduction of new equipment and technologies in production in construction, professions such as “specialist in industrial robotics”, “engineer-mechanotron”, “3D printer operator”, “unmanned aerial vehicle operator” and others appeared.

“We need to prepare for a serious retraining. Today, the demand for digital skills is increasing. It should be noted that with the development of digitalization, almost all professions are updated - it is difficult to find a profession in which digital technologies would not be applied. Therefore, this skill is, of course, necessary, ”noted the All-Russian Research Institute of Labor.

What ended the "tenths"

Over the past ten years, the Russian labor market has undergone a number of significant changes. The results of the decade can be summed up by evaluating the data for 2019.

So, according to the latest data from Rosstat, which RT got acquainted with, at the end of October 2019 the number of labor force (Russians from 15 years of age and older) in the country amounted to 75.6 million people.

Most of the employees (at the end of 2018) were recorded in the field of wholesale and retail trade, repair of vehicles and motorcycles.

In the category of 15 to 72 years old, there were 3.3 million officially unemployed. This is about 200 thousand people less than in the same period of 2018 (it was 3.5 million).

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin also drew attention to the downward trend in the number of unemployed citizens.

“As for the labor market, unemployment is declining. On average, in January - September it amounted to 4.6% of the economically active population. This is the lowest - I want to emphasize this - the lowest value in the modern history of Russia, ”the president said in November this year.

As RT previously told, according to information for the first quarter of 2019, among unemployed people with work experience (76% of the total), 16.1% left their previous jobs due to staff reductions, liquidation of an enterprise or their own business. Of their own will, 26.6% quit.

At the same time, according to the results of the II quarter of 2019, the number of vacancies in Russia exceeded 1.1 million - this is the maximum value since 2016. The largest number of free jobs, according to the Federal State Statistics Service, was recorded in Moscow (170 thousand), Moscow Region (79 thousand) and St. Petersburg (69 thousand).

However, against this background, a shortage of personnel is recorded, especially in some specialties. For example, among specialists of the highest level of qualification, the majority of workers in the field of healthcare (doctors) are not enough. The shortage of personnel in this area is almost 60 thousand people.

In addition to various measures of social support for various categories of workers, some organizational changes in the labor market are also discussed. Perhaps one of the most talked about possible innovations was the idea of ​​introducing a four-day work week.

In addition to qualitative and quantitative changes in the Russian labor market, technological processes are also being increasingly discussed.

We could only rejoice at the development of technologies and production robotics, but the concern for many workers is the fact that progressive robots can “move” them from their workplaces. According to experts, by 2030, more than 20 million specialists in Russia will be at risk of dismissal due to automation. This primarily affects the hotel and restaurant business.

The government knows about these forecasts. So, earlier, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev called not to worry about this, but to prepare for a serious re-qualification.

“Everything new always causes concern. I recall that the fear of competition with cars in the XVII-XVIII centuries led to what? They simply tried to destroy these machines so as not to create competitors for themselves, ”said Dmitry Medvedev.

“We are entering an interesting period of time”

According to experts, many trends related to technological progress are known, and it remains only to competently prepare both employees and employers for them.

“We are entering an interesting period of time that can be divided into two parts. The first part will be connected with the fact that the demographic situation will let us know about ourselves. The number of young people entering the labor market will be minimal. At the same time, no one has canceled the transformation of the economy itself and the changing requirements of employers, ”said Alexander Safonov, Vice-Rector of the Academy of Labor and Social Relations, in an interview with RT.

He also notes that some industries will fade into the background. This, in particular, shops (sellers will be replaced by automated systems) and transport (drones will be actively introduced).

“But the demand for people who will maintain the current technical condition of all systems will grow. Programmers will be needed. Plus, there are two more areas that are developing in all countries. These are biotechnologies related to human life and health. We need operators of such complex systems, ”he said.

The expert also said that the trend of demand for doctors will continue. In addition, people will be needed to create new products, such as industrial designers, sales and marketing specialists. That is, these are those people "from whom it will not be possible to free oneself."

In addition, according to the professor of the Department of Labor and Social Policy of the Institute of Public Administration and Management of RANEPA Alexander Shcherbakov, the development of the labor market should also accompany the development of the country's economy.

“We now lack development not so much in the service sector as in the real sector of the economy. The development of the real sector of the economy is the key to the development of the entire economy as a whole, including the implementation of effective import substitution. But this requires professionals, primarily in the field of technology. In this vein, the labor market must be developed. Although it all depends on the demand for relevant specialists. All aspects are interconnected, ”the specialist is sure.