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Regular version of the site

Employers’ requirements to current and perspective professional competences of the personnel


Full text in Russian (pdf)
No. 1 (75), 2014
Author: Marina Krasilnikova, Natalia Bondarenko

The situation regarding the main socio-economic indicators in most of the surveyed companies has not changed substantially in the past year. According to results of the 2013 survey the amount of enterprises with bad economic conditions is not expanding, however one would notice no signs of a considerable improvement of outcomes of companies’ activities, of a stable positive trend in the possibilities of the companies’ economic growth and of an availability of resources for the companies’ development. Nevertheless the heads of approximately half of the surveyed companies intend to upgrade technologies and equipment within the next year.

                                                                            

The situation regarding the main socio-economic indicators in most of the surveyed companies has not changed substantially in the past year. According to results of the 2013 survey the amount of enterprises with bad economic conditions is not expanding, however one would notice no signs of a considerable improvement of outcomes of companies’ activities, of a stable positive trend in the possibilities of the companies’ economic growth and of an availability of resources for the companies’ development. Nevertheless the heads of approximately half of the surveyed companies intend to upgrade technologies and equipment within the next year.

The proportion of enterprises and organizations which are facing a shortage of employees was further increasing in 2013, although this year the rate of growth of personnel deficiency among surveyed companies became slower. The companies would more often report about a shortage of workers: in 2013 every second employer reported having experienced a shortage of skilled workers. At the same time, similar to the pre-crisis 2008, the complaints of the top- management concerning a shortage of the personnel would rather reflect a problem of qualifications structure disparity than that of an absolute shortage of the personnel.

After the 2008-2009 recession a positive trend in the employment of new graduates with whom employers make up for a lack of the personnel on the labour market has been gradually restoring. In 2012 almost 60% of the surveyed companies hired new graduates, this being higher by 12 percentage points as compared with 2011. It is particularly higher education graduates whom employers hired more often among graduates from different levels of professional education. As a result in the past year the proportion of companies which employed graduates from higher education institutions increased up to 44% (this being higher than the 2008 level). The share of companies which are interested in college graduates increased considerably – up to 39% of the surveyed companies. The demand for graduates from vocational schools and vocational lyceums is also restoring: according to outcomes of the 2013 survey 30% of the surveyed companies employed such graduates.

The employers in Russia and in the UK have approximately similar opinions regarding higher education graduates who are getting a job in a company. On the whole the employers would seldom assess the performance of graduates from higher education institutions as unsatisfactory. Overall, Russian employers are quite rational as far as the professional knowledge of young specialists is concerned, the employers’ expectations and requirements in this respect being not too high, and their assessment of the graduates’ professional background is about “three plus” in five-point scale. The employersare more inclined to pay attention to the graduates’ learning skills, adaptability in the new workplace, high motivation on professional development in the company and commitment, achievement drive.

Amid the growing complaints regarding the shortage of the personnel, the employers are more likely satisfied with the condition of the workforce employed in their companies. Although currently the problem of the skill deficiencies of the personnel in Russia may be considered as local, a more detailed research allows revealing the main existing requirements of the companies regarding the key competences of employees, i.e. those that will be in demand on the labor market in the first place. Currently the problem of the qualification deficiencies concerns primarily workers, both skilled and unskilled ones. Beginning with mid 2000s until 2013 the proportion of companies where the qualification of line specialists has remained below the required level decreased substantially; at the same time the deficit of workers’ qualification decreased slightly over this period. According to employers, the “deficient” professional skills vary across categories of the personnel. Russian employers consider that professionals, specialists lack not the core (basic) professional knowledge, but active behavioural and innovative skills, namely, insufficient communication skills, as well as not developed problem solving, planning and organizing skills. As to clerical staff, technicians, the lack of the core (basic) professional knowledge and skills, team working skills and “classical” performing skills (diligence, labor discipline and so on) are indicated first of all as “deficient” professional qualities. As to skilled workers, Russian employers explicitly state that this personnel category need to improve their performing skills along with professional knowledge, and at the same time advanced skills to learn quickly enough and reorganize their work.

If the potential for modernization is implemented in the post-Soviet area, including Russia, the innovation qualification shifts not only regarding specialists, but also workers, are expected as it has happened before in the countries of “old Europe” and in the USA.

For the next 2-3 years Russian companies are more often forecasting changes in the qualification requirements of companies in the innovative sectors (communications, business services), as well as in companies where technologies and equipment were upgraded (or are planned to be upgraded soon). In those companies the importance of adaptation skills (learning skills) and computer literacy will grow in the first place, along with the growing requirements to job specific skills. In connection with the transition to modern technologies and forms of organization of labour, the employers are also forecasting a growth of requirements to “active” behavioural skills – communication skills, and problem solving, planning and organizing skills. Thus the skills most deficient at the present time will be actively demanded by employers in the future. So if the technologies cultivating those skills among students are not developed inside of the professional education system in time, the qualifications gap will only grow.

An upgrading of professional knowledge and skills in the modern economy is possible at the expense of developing lifelong learning practices for the adult working population. Although in the past year the proportion of companies providing professional training for their employees increased, the difference of the activity of companies in different sectors is dramatic. If compared with the situation, for instance, in British small companies, the small businesses in Russia are excessively lagging behind as far as the organization of training of their personnel, the cooperation with the professional education system, the applying of institutional forms of the personnel development policy are concerned. One of the main measures practiced by British companies promoting more involvement of small businesses in the development of professional training programs is uniting their efforts and cooperate and co-investing with other small companies in the professional training programs for their employees. This allows lowering the level of costs for small businesses when organizing the training of their employees.

A comparison with British companies showed that, unlike Russian companies, they conducted training over a wide range of areas. Particularly in Russian companies, unlike British companies, the innovation training (training in new technology) and participation of recently hired employees in induction training are less developed (being almost unpopular). Besides, if in the Russian companies there dominates the viewpoint that the behavioural skills are developed in the course of informal training of employees (e.g. as they acquire skills of working independently), European employers consider that non-formal teaching of those skills is insufficient and that it is necessary to develop formal training programs, including those implemented jointly with education institutions. On the whole in Russia, the developed personnel policy setting the professional growth of the personnel as a priority is marked mainly among large and successful, developed companies.

One should also notice that in the past year the employers expanded cooperation with professional education institutions, and the companies which had already conducted or were intended to conduct the modernization communicated more actively with such institution. The employers are still displaying more interest in joint activities involving higher education institutions than colleges, vocational schools, and lyceums. The proportion of companies which had cooperated with higher education institutions reached 43%.

Figures and tables

Proportion of enterprises which employed graduates from all levels of professional education, by sector (as a percentage of the total number of enterprises which have been hiring new employees in the previous 2 years)

 

 

Employers’ assessment of graduates from higher education institutions, colleges, in Russia and in the UK

 

Graduates from higher education institutions (with university degree)

College graduates

Level of professional knowledge … (Russia 2013)

1 (low)

2

3

2

5

4

3

29

35

4

52

50

5 (high)

13

8

Work-readiness …               (UK 2011)[1]

Very poorly prepared

2

5

Poorly prepared

12

19

Well prepared

59

60

Very well prepared

23

13

DK

4

3

 

Proportion of enterprises which conducted re-training, qualification upgrading, probation for their employees, by sector (percentage of surveyed enterprises within a sector)

 

Main types of personnel training initiated by companies: comparison of small, medium and large businesses in Russia and in the UK[2]

 

Companies with
less 25 staff

Companies with   25-99 staff

Companies with 100-249 staff

Companies with 250+ staff

Average

Russia 2013

UK

2011

Russia 2013

UK

2011

Russia 2013

UK

2011

Russia 2013

UK

 2011

Russia 2013

UK

 2011

Job specific training (refresher training according “old” specialty, professions) 

79

87

79

93

83

95

83

98

82

89

Health and safety/ first aid training

31

80

63

93

67

96

67

96

65

85

induction training

7

63

14

83

9

90

18

94

15

71

Training new technology, for modernizing equipment

8

46

20

56

20

70

43

80

33

51

Management training

8

37

9

61

6

78

14

88

11

47

Supervisory training

3

37

10

56

5

73

19

83

14

45

Professional skills and qualifications which employees lacking the required proficiency need to improve in the first place: comparison o Russia and the UK, by main categories of employees

 

professionals, specialists

clerical staff, technicians

Skilled workers

Unskilled workers

                             RUSSIA 2013

                              General skills

Professional knowledge, job or position specific skills

43

52

56

30

General skills (numeracy and literacy skills, overall culture)

 

12

20

12

7

Basic computer literacy

29[3]

24

18

11

                            Behavioral skills

Customer handling skills

41

25

18

9

Team working skills

42

34

27

13

Problem solving skills, initiative

59

28

32

14

Planning and organising skills

41

21

18

4

Office admin skills

11

19

3

0

Responsibility for the charged work

42

46

29

49

Learning skills (ability to be re-trained, to master something new)

40

26

39

26

Diligence, ability to follow through discipline rules

29

46

40

35

commitment

25

35

20

29

                         UK 2011[4]

                       General skills

 

 

 

 

Professional knowledge, job or position specific skills

44

47

51

51

General skills (numeracy and literacy skills, overall culture)

9

18

23

25

Basic computer literacy

9

22

19

13

                           Behavioral skills

Customer handling skills

37

34

18

45

Team working skills

39

32

37

42

Problem solving skills

29

34

31

35

Planning and organising skills

38

41

28

35

Office admin skills

10

32

9

9

 

Prepared by N. Bondarenko

 

 

 


[1] See the Report UK Commission’s employer skills survey 2011: UK results, р.30 http://www.ukces.org.uk/assets/ukces/docs/publications/ukces-employer-skills-survey-11.pdf

[2] Data for the UK – see: Report UK Commission’s employer skills survey 2011: UK results, р.114  http://www.ukces.org.uk/assets/ukces/docs/publications/ukces-employer-skills-survey-11.pdf

 

[3] Marked yellow in the table are “deficient” professional skills which are in demand in one of the two countries when comparing Russia and the UK; figures in bold type indicate professional skills which are more “deficient” for a category of skills.

В таблице желтым отмечены более востребованные в одной из стран, более «дефицитные» профессиональные качества, если сравнивать между Россией и Великобританией. «Жирным» шрифтом отмечены чаще всего отмечаемые как дефицитные для данной категории профессиональные качества.

[4] Report UK Commission’s employer skills survey 2011: UK results, р.80 http://www.ukces.org.uk/assets/ukces/docs/publications/ukces-employer-skills-survey-11.pdf

 

 


 

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