Demand for specialists in the field of unmanned aircraft has doubled over the year

According to market participants, over the year the demand for specialists in the field of unmanned aircraft has at least doubled. There are currently 2–3 thousand vacancies open, and up to 25 thousand people are employed in the industry. Employers are most actively looking for engineers and skilled workers. But the average salary has increased slightly and is about 115 thousand rubles. Experts note that demand is created mainly by state defense orders, and raise the question of the demand for specialists after the end of hostilities. Many of Kommersant’s interlocutors believe that the market is already very overheated.

The demand for specialists in the civil sector of unmanned aircraft, including operators, engineers, testers, assemblers and programmers, increased two to three times in 2023, the NTI platform told Kommersant, citing a survey of enterprises and vacancy statistics. Most often, specialists are hired in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Udmurtia and Bashkiria, Tomsk and Sverdlovsk regions, NTI notes. The average salary increased slightly year on year – from 110 thousand rubles. up to 115 thousand rubles.

The head of the Aeronext association, Gleb Babintsev, speaks of an increase of three to five times compared to the beginning of 2022. Then, he notes, about 5 thousand people worked in the industry, at the end of the year – already 10 thousand people, and now – 20-25 thousand people. In all regions of the Russian Federation, they are looking for another 2-3 thousand people. In the next two years, the association expects the market to double to 50 thousand specialists.

According to experts, companies primarily see a demand for design engineers and technologists in various areas, from mechanics to radio electronics, specialists in radio communications and programming, as well as workers in machine tool and assembly operations. There are also vacancies for “operating personnel,” but this is “a non-market imbalance dictated by the needs of the defense industry,” Gleb Babintsev clarified: manual control operators are required for FPV drones (First Person View – drones that transmit video frames to the pilot in real time). “Operators are trained in large numbers, but the commercial market does not need them in such a volume,” emphasizes Mr. Babintsev.

Some of the experts interviewed by Kommersant associate the growth of the market with the expansion of state defense orders and the corresponding flow of civilian specialists into the defense industry. A number of interlocutors also note the factors of an increase in the number of regions with an experimental legal regime (see Kommersant on August 11), the development and expansion of manufacturers in the regions and restrictions on supplies from China (see Kommersant on September 18).

The market now has the greatest need for drone operators, programmers and designers, says Kursir CEO Vitaly Munirov. According to Rusdronoport General Director Nikolai Ryashin, there is an urgent issue of shortage of administrative personnel: sales department employees and product managers. Both companies clarified that the number of new employees doubled year on year.

Demand has generally increased, but in the civilian sector “not as much as market participants would like,” says Nikolai Ivashov, a representative of the Fly Drone company. He attributes the imbalance to restrictions on drone flights introduced in most regions of the Russian Federation. So far, market conditions are such that not all graduates can quickly find an employer in business, Mr. Ivashov asserts: “In defense enterprises and the armed forces, for obvious reasons, the situation is different.” Meanwhile, the company itself increased its staff by a third over the year.

After the end of hostilities in Ukraine, specialists who currently serve in the army and other security forces “will be able to find application for their skills in the civilian sector,” Nikolai Ivashov believes.

The problem of the future work of about 10 thousand drone operators currently involved in military operations was discussed, in particular, at the end of July at the specialized forum “Archipelago” in Novosibirsk. There will be a need to both employ the vacant personnel and load the production capacities that currently serve the defense order, Gleb Babintsev emphasizes. Currently, market development prospects are complicated by the ban on drone flights in more than 70 regions.

According to the forecasts of other Kommersant interlocutors in the expert community, after the end of hostilities, specialized personnel “may not be in demand in a market with declining incomes due to increased competition.”

The market is really overheated, agrees Andrei Patrakov, founder of the RunAvia service, and “this is mainly due not to civilian use, but to military orders and stimulation of civilian production in the form of budget subsidies.” Artificial growth, he emphasizes, can lead to an oversaturation of low-skilled personnel, lower wages and a shortage of highly qualified specialists, as happened in the IT sector.

In addition to the flight ban, Mr. Patrakov clarifies, the market cannot develop due to the “lack of regulatory regulation.” Certification of remote pilots of drones weighing up to 30 kg has been cancelled, but the opportunity to certify them in the category from 30 kg has not appeared, the expert explains, emphasizing the need to approve professional training programs.

Aigul Abdullina