Galina Akhmerova: ‘The competition for entry-level staff will grow’
The expert in career guidance about the conservative market of employers and the demographic pit in the 90s
The Russian economy is reaping the harvest of the demographic pit in the 90s and experiencing a deficit of young workers, therefore the approach to staff selection is changing. By forecasts, the country can lose up to 8 million workers under 40 in the next years. Creator of a mobile app for teenagers’ career guidance Round Galina Akhmerova writes about the problem of staff shortage and competition for staff in an op-ed column for Realnoe Vremya.
What’s going on in the labour market?
The unemployment rate in Russia in April 2022 fell to a new record low of 4%, according to a report of the Russian Statistics Service. The previous record was 4,1%, which was in February and March this year.
The Russian Statistics Service stressed that the number of the workforce above 15 and older was 74,9 million Russians. 71,9 million of them are classified as employed in the economic activity while 2,9 million are jobless meeting the criteria of the International Labour Organisation.
In our blog on Yandex.Zen, we already published an article with research on staff problems. We concluded that the reality is that the number of people from 20 to 24 years has decreased almost twice from 2011 to 2021, from 12 to 7 million, the deficit will only intensify and the competition for entry-level staff will grow. The age for employment will likely lower.
The competition is focused on 15 million potential workers out of 75 million
However, now we face a paradox that employers anyway unwillingly consider job seekers under 25 (school and university students, college and university graduates) and above 45 years, though there are 10-20 years to go before the retirement. Given all this, we see that the competition is focused on 15 million potential workers out of 75 million.
How to fill the staff shortage:
- Migrants from CIS countries. They can fill some vacancies, but this will be a short-term solution to the problem.
- Educational courses. A lot of people did three-month courses in programming, marketing and so on. However, now they don’t know where to go and how to find a job without experience.
- Corporate education and mentorship. This process strongly depends on those who already work in the company, but what should small companies do?
Sites for real dialogue are needed
Among the options that are already on the market, there is a lack of products attached to the labour market and the employer’s specific needs. It is a long journey the conservative market isn’t ready for, it is necessary to train the staff in childhood and continue on-the-job training in adulthood. Sites for a real dialogue between the employer, the state and the job seeker are needed to improve norms facilitating finding a job for the youth and the generation above 45 (help in adaptation, not digital literacy but soft skills).
We put a lot of effort to make sure Round app becomes this site for a dialogue and finding your path from a hobby to a job for the younger generation.
Reference
The author’s opinion does not necessarily coincide with the position of Realnoe Vremya’s editorial board.