Will the Youth Policy Development Strategy help to solve the problems of employers

The authorities of the Russian Federation are engaged in the creation of the Strategy for the Development of Youth Policy until 2030. It will contain, among other things, measures to support the employment of young Russians. Sergei Sukhostavets, Operations Director of the Rocket Work technology platform, spoke to Moskovskaya Pravda about how effective these measures can become, as well as about the prospects for the labor market in Russia.

Federal and regional authorities have been engaged in supporting youth employment for more than a year. And there are results. Nevertheless, experts believe that in the coming years the country may experience a shortage of young personnel. And it is still difficult to predict whether the new Strategy for the Development of Youth Policy will help to solve the problem.

– Until specific proposals are written down on paper and turned into laws, it is, of course, not easy to evaluate them. But it is clear that any initiatives in which the concepts of “employment support” and “reduced tax rate” appear in the current economic situation (and in any other) are undoubtedly good, Sergey Sukhostavets believes. – So, the implementation of the proposal to significantly reduce the amount of contributions to the Social Security Fund for young employees can make life easier for employers who are motivated to hire young professionals. After all, it will be necessary to pay less for each specialist, which means that it will be possible, if not to save money, then to offer a young employee a more competitive salary.

And employers will have to compete for young people, the expert is sure. And the point is not so much in the race for reduced rates, but in the growing shortage of personnel, especially young ones.

“People under the age of 29, whom we are talking about, are the most economically active segment of the population, as well as those who generate greater labor productivity. Do companies need such people? Undoubtedly. Will the market be saturated with them? In the short term, no. And the point is not that the employment of young people was not supported before, or that employers are reluctant to hire young people. The main reason for the shortage is the growing demographic hole caused by the decline in the birth rate in the 90s and zero, explains Sergey Sukhostavets. So, in the future, the number of economically active Russians will decrease compared to previous decades, and the labor force will age. According to HSE forecasts, the share of working people under the age of 40 will decrease from 42% to 37.4% by 2030. Accordingly, GDP will also decline: according to the same study, by 1.5% per year.

The numbers are really disappointing. And with such indicators, the state should, rather, not encourage employers to hire young people, but young employees to fill vacancies. However, giving businesses a tool to retain young professionals and provide them with better conditions is useful, the expert believes.

– No need to discount the personal characteristics of the generation of buzzers. In their work, they are looking not only for favorable conditions, but also for the opportunity to build a competent balance between personal and professional,” Sergey Sukhostavets clarifies. “Therefore, more and more young people are looking not towards classic hiring, but towards freelancing. And the growing popularity of hiring personnel only plays along with this. Whether hiring with state support will win is an open question. But to increase the attractiveness of classic hiring through increased fees and other preferences – why not.

In general, according to the expert, in order not to face a shortage of personnel in the future, businesses need to develop their own strategies for attracting young people now.

Alena Bodrienko.

Photo by Kirill Zykov / Moskva Agency