19 November 2003 13:46
Russian higher education inconsistent with demands of labour market - minister
Moscow, 19 November: The problem of mismatch between the education that is being offered and the demands of the
modern labour market was discussed today at a joint sitting of the Russian Education Ministry and the Labour and Social
Development Ministry. "Overproduction in the sphere of higher education" is being felt in Russia now,
Education Minister Vladimir Filippov said.
According to him, just 50 per cent of university graduates can find a job in keeping with their speciality, the
others completely change their specialities or become jobless. At the same time, the country experiences a lack of
skilled workers. It turns out, the minister said, "that we have not been spending money where necessary".
The head of the Labour and Social Development Ministry Aleksandr Pochinok noted that the country was suffering from
overabundance of general economists, international economists, brokers and accountants who were "trained in an old
fashion without account for international standards". On the other hand, he noted, there has emerged a demand for
engineers, manufacturing engineers and specialists in the food production and machine-building industries. [passage
omitted]
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
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