Andrey Kutepov, chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, proposed to revise the demanded specialties, as well as pay more attention to the training of our own personnel in the construction sector and agriculture, in order to prevent “the country’s dependence on foreign labor.” This is reported by TASS with reference to a copy of the letter, which on Wednesday, February 24, will be sent to the Assistant to the President of Russia Maxim Oreshkin.
“At present, the largest segment of migrants is working in the construction and agriculture sectors,” the agency quoted Kutepov as saying.
“With the aim of inadmissibility of the country’s dependence on foreign labor,” the Federation Council considers it necessary to include in the priority tasks of the education sector the revision of the demanded specialties, as well as training the necessary personnel in the field of construction and agriculture. This, according to the senators, will help “provide guaranteed jobs” for Russians, as well as promptly replace foreign personnel.
The senator, referring to the data of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, notes that as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the number of migrants in the country has almost halved: from 11 to 6 million people, most of them work under patents. He expressed confidence that the proposed measures will help reduce unemployment and the number of poor people who are in this group due to lack of work, age and lack of work experience.
In early February, entrepreneurs complained about a shortage of builders in Russia. Thus, the “National Association of Builders” (NOSTROY) told Izvestia that about 50% of developers felt a shortage of builders. The SRO “Ural Association of Builders” (UOS) said that the shortage of workers was 40-50%.
According to experts, after the construction stops in April last year, many migrants left for home, and so far, in accordance with the order of the Russian government, foreigners cannot enter the country, including to work on construction sites.
Experts note that the shortage of personnel began to be felt back in November-December 2020, but the problem arose most acutely after the New Year holidays.
As Izvestia reported on February 10, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Russia Dzhambulat Khatuov asked Deputy Prime Minister Victoria Abramchenko to assist in attracting foreign workers to the country for seasonal work in the field. In a letter to Abramchenko, he stressed that some processes require the involvement of workers from abroad, since they have the necessary skills and experience. Last year, the work went on as usual, but it was not possible to completely resolve the issue with the shortage of foreign personnel.