Salaries in the production of electronics increased by 20-30%, but there are not enough specialists

The salaries of mid-level employees at the Russian production of printed circuit boards, computer technology and electronics in the first half of the year grew by 20-30%, market participants and headhunters say. Against the background of the expansion of production facilities, first of all, there are not enough installation operators. Companies are already poaching staff from other regions, offering payment for relocation and housing. Salary growth will continue, but will not help solve the problem until colleges and universities increase the output and quality of personnel for the industry, experts say.

Kommersant got acquainted with HeadHanter data on the dynamics of salaries of specialists in the production of computer equipment and electronics in Russia from January to June. From them it follows that the salaries of operators of the line of surface mounting of printed circuit boards increased year on year by 20%, up to 60 thousand rubles. per month, while production managers – only by 4%, up to 130 thousand rubles. per month. At the same time, the total number of vacancies for the position of operator of surface mount lines in IT (production of server equipment, computers, data storage systems, etc.) increased by 23%, up to 294 vacancies, and in the category “IT Production Manager” – by 89% , up to 429 vacancies.

Due to the expansion of capacities for contract manufacturing of electronics in the Russian Federation due to a shortage of personnel over the past year, the average salary of employees has increased by 20-30% and continues to grow, confirms Elena Zhidkova, head of Promkontrakt. “Currently, there is a shortage of about 20% of employees in the category of manual assemblers, about 40% among operators of the surface mount line, and up to 60% among production managers, so companies are fighting for every employee,” she says.

Against the background of the departure of a number of foreign manufacturers from the Russian Federation and the increased demand for printed circuit boards for auto electronics, medical equipment, computers and servers, contract manufacturers of such products began to expand their production and invest tens of millions of dollars in this (see Kommersant of May 26).

When the main assortment was made up of foreign solutions, our own specialists were not in demand and mainly worked in the military-industrial complex and in companies with state participation, “now, in addition to financial rewards, there is another important factor – the mobilization reservation provided by the military-industrial complex, but not every civilian production”, explains Evgeniy Krivosheev, Director of Production and Development at F+ tech.

According to Arkady Gylov, Commercial Director of Global Microelectronics, a supplier of equipment for the production of printed circuit boards, all enterprises in Russia that assemble electronics (computers, servers, smartphones, etc.) experience a shortage of personnel. “There were cases when companies transported employees from one end of the country to the other, offering big salaries, paying for moving and renting apartments. But some regions have already agreed not to poach employees,” he says.

The increase in wages is due, on the one hand, to the level of inflation, and on the other hand, to the resulting deficit associated with the period when the generation born in the years of the demographic hole entered the labor activity, adds Victoria Khaba, Vice President for Organizational Development and Human Resources at Aquarius Group. “It is becoming more difficult to attract personnel to the regions, so we systematically review salaries, and when searching for open vacancies, we expand the geography with the additional option of a relocation package,” she notes.

According to the head of the contract manufacturing committee of the Association of Russian Developers and Electronics Manufacturers, Georgy Levin, by the end of the year, salaries in the industry will rise by another 10–15%, but this will not help solve the problem, since colleges and universities “produce insufficient specialists for the IT industry that is increasing production “.

In the spring, market participants have already asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to increase the training period in the field of radio electronics for a year (see Kommersant of May 15), since it is not possible to train qualified specialists in a shortened period.

Timofey Kornev