The Chemical Industry Needs New Personnel
On September 28, a working meeting of members of «Delovaya Rossiya», the Russian Union of Chemists, and members of the Expert Council on the Development of the Chemical Industry under the State Duma Committee on Industry and Trade was held at the «Komsomolskaya Pravda» Publishing House, with the participation of a representative from the relevant department of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, students, and young entrepreneurs. The topic of discussion was personnel policy and the creation of a personnel reserve for the Chemical Industry.
According to the participants, the forecast of a large-scale personnel shortage is the main threat. Given that chemistry is a basic industry without which other industrial sectors cannot develop, solving the personnel problem becomes a priority.
«The increase in the pace of technological development and the launch of import substitution programs are accompanied by the creation of new jobs. The specialists that the industry will need in the next 5 years should already be studying and actively undergoing internships today. But the number of students is much smaller than the number of personnel we will require. And this means only one thing – it is necessary to increase the influx of applicants into universities and secondary vocational schools within two years, strengthen the work of corporate universities, and begin mass promotion of the industry to attract new people from related sectors,» commented Mikhail Sutyaginsky, Chairman of the «Delovaya Rossiya» Committee on Chemical Industry, on the situation.
Viktor Ivanov, President of the Russian Union of Chemists, spoke about the formation of a systematic approach in personnel policy.
«Large chemical companies are already solving the issues of attracting and training specialists through corporate universities, and this experience certainly needs to be replicated. Moreover, individual corporate educational centers could become specialized industry institutes, implementing a system of continuous professional education, which could significantly shorten the path of specialist training,» Viktor Petrovich noted in his speech.
Daria Shevyakina, Deputy Director of the Department of Chemical Industry of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, in her speech, announced her readiness to support young entrepreneurs and stimulate the development of scientific projects in chemistry. She also spoke about current state support measures and how to become a participant in such programs.
The meeting moderator, State Duma Deputy Maria Vasilkova, spoke about the need to raise the status of the chemical industry and popularize it as much as possible among schoolchildren and applicants.
«It is chemistry that is the basic industry of industry and the driver for achieving technological sovereignty. Without chemical technologies, it is impossible to create an advanced high-tech sector of the Russian economy. One of the tools for developing competencies and personnel potential could be the creation of a network of technological coworking spaces with modern equipment for student scientific groups and young startups. On the basis of such platforms, beginner techno-entrepreneurs will be able to create innovative products and technologies from prototype to serial production. We have also come forward with an initiative, the essence of which is to create a «chemical» track within the framework of the all-Russian competition for managers «Leaders of Russia», held annually by the ANO «Russia – Land of Opportunities». An industry track will strengthen the personnel reserve and partially eliminate the «personnel hunger» in the chemical industry, and will also attract talented managers from related industries, including from abroad. It is also important to continue work on transforming the model of continuous education.»
Almost all experts at the meeting spoke about continuous education. Moreover, representatives of the country’s largest universities confirmed their readiness to actively cooperate with business and train students to meet the needs of enterprises. And so that companies can be confident in the quality of the education received, Alla Factorovich, a representative of the National Agency for the Development of Qualifications, proposes introducing a mandatory professional exam that would confirm all the graduate’s existing competencies.
The main thing is that young people not only come but also stay in the Chemical Industry.
One of the tools for engaging future specialists was the Youth Council under the Commission for the Development of Low-Tonnage Chemistry of the Russian Union of Chemists, initiated by Irina Vendilo, General Director of the «Roshimreaktiv» Association.
According to her, if young specialists know and understand the pressing issues of the modern chemical industry and participate in developing their solutions, they will adapt to the market faster and be able to accelerate their professional growth.
According to Mikhail Sutyaginsky, the result of the experts’ work should be a list of solutions and recommendations for organizing personnel work for chemical enterprises, which will be presented at the end of October within the business program of the industry exhibition «Chemistry 2023».
