“What is 68%? We need to employ at least 90%!”

Only 68% of graduates of vocational schools in Tatarstan are employed in the craft sector. Such disappointing statistics were announced by the Minister of Education of Tatarstan, Ilsur Khadiullin, at a recent republican meeting of education and science workers.

In total, in 2023, 22,200 people received diplomas from vocational education organizations in the republic, 75% of whom studied at state expense. Overall, the employment rate of vocational school graduates in Tatarstan is 10% higher than the Russian average; there are many educational institutions where the employment rate by profession is below 50% – primarily higher education institutions in the districts of the republic.

At the meeting, Ilsur Khadiullin suggested that the heads of these universities, together with employers and local authorities, develop proposals to reorganise their training areas in favour of in-demand specialisations.

“I believe that it is not the graduates who need to be hired, but the heads of these universities. They need to be given more suitable work. Why keep them? Why do we need them? What is 68%? We need to hire at least 90%!”, commented the governor of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov on the situation. And he called for personnel commissions to be convened and “to examine why we need such institutions” in order to reorient them towards training the personnel that is needed.

“If you talk to big employers, they will all say that they see no prospects for students”

As Timur Mullin, director of the Kazan Employment Center, explained to Realnoe Vremya, the main reason why graduates do not find work in a profession is the poor performance of employers.

Next, it comes down to working conditions and salaries. According to the head of the employment center, there are several instruments to prevent the brain drain of university graduates.

“Firstly, targeted training is one of the tools for employers who have a shortage of staff. Targeted training guarantees that a graduate will be employed exactly where he or she is needed after graduation. Secondly, it is working with students who are already studying,” he noted.

In general, it can be said that 90% of graduates are employed in some form:

“There is a system that allows you to track the employment of graduates after graduation. According to it, 90% are employed in one way or another. There is no gradation by specialty, since our labor market is free. In other words, a person can study law and work as a courier, but in reality he is employed,” noted Timur Mullin.

Daria Pinegina

Tatarstan