With learning into the world: the reform of tourism education has begun in Russia
The list of professions in the field of tourism and hospitality may be revised in the coming year, follows from the data announced at a meeting of the National Expert Council for the Development of Human Resources in this industry. It is planned to remove anachronistic professions and add new ones that meet modern requirements. The curricula of higher and secondary specialized education and the admission figures will be reviewed. All this will make it possible to train more than 160,000 additional specialists, said Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development. At the same time, the shortage of personnel in the industry now amounts to about 250 thousand, and 74% of hotel employees do not have the appropriate qualifications. What other reforms await the system of staff training for tourism — in the material of Izvestia.
What are they going to change in tourism education
Tourism education in Russia will undergo significant changes in the coming years. On March 21, 2025, the National Expert Council for the Development of Human Resources in the Tourism and Hospitality Industry began its work. By the end of this year, he must formulate proposals on updating the lists of professions, specialties and positions for the industry.
In addition, the federal state educational programs of higher and secondary education will also change. They will strengthen the practice-oriented approach, and the share of practical classes will increase.
The purpose of the council's work is to fine—tune the personnel training system, taking into account the tasks and demands of the industry, Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Economic Development, said at its first meeting.
— It is currently developing rapidly — the construction of hotels, amusement parks, ski slopes and other tourist attractions continues as part of national projects. And, of course, all this will require new employees," he said. — Business already has a demand for more qualified senior and middle-level personnel. In general, we need to additionally train more than 160,000 specialists by 2030.
The new council will have to coordinate this work. According to the minister, this concerns the updating of educational standards, the development of standard training programs, and the formation of a new approach to approving admission control figures.
— All this will help to link the work of educational institutions and the needs of business, strengthen the practical training of students so that they can successfully get a job in their specialty, — said Reshetnikov.
In addition, the council will have to work out methodological approaches to personnel training based on the level and pace of development of the industry, which may later be applicable in other areas.
However, the minister called for an "evolutionary" approach to the process, without drastic changes, while maintaining relevant points, and not "fixing what is not broken."
What can change in the training of personnel for tourism
Acting Rector of the Russian State University of Tourism and Service, co-chairman of the Council Ambartsum Galustov called his task the "reassembly" of educational programs in conjunction with the industry.
"We are talking about creating a core of higher and secondary education, which will contribute to the unification of approaches to program development in all regions of the Russian Federation, as well as building a seamless model of continuing professional education based on industry—recognized unified approaches to educational programs," he explained.
In addition, it is necessary to develop approaches and measures that will contribute to increasing the prestige of professions in the tourism and hospitality industry.
Anna Kuvaytseva, co-chair of the Council, Director of the Academy of Hospitality Cosmos, explained that all modern areas will be added to the lists of professions and positions.
"We need to remove all the anachronisms," she said. — In the field of vocational training, the system has a recommended list of professions, which does not always correspond to those stated in the industry.
The transition to a practice-oriented model is a long—standing request of the industry, she said.
"There should be proposals on graduate competence maps, and a more global review of programs," she said.
Samvel Sarukhanyan, General Director of Mriya LLC, gave an example of specialties that are taught "the old-fashioned way", as well as those that are not taught, although they are necessary.
— We are still releasing the barmen. And, as an option, we suggest changing this specialty to a waiter of the Swedish line. There is no profession of butler, concierge. There are no very important specialties, such as director of nutrition. Everyone who graduates from universities wants to become general managers. But there is no such profession in general, and we are not preparing it.
Anna Kuvaytseva noted that changes in the admission control figures are also expected.
"We will look at the current graduation rate for each of the job areas, what kind of tourism development each region has, and predict a specific indicator for the already updated list of positions," the expert said.
In addition, a bank of the best practices of tourism education will be formed and posted on a single platform.
What is missing in tourism education
Ilya Umansky, President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, confirmed that the educational programs of secondary special education (SPE) are not keeping pace with the changes in the tourism industry.
"Digitalization, changing preferences and the sales market require the adaptation of the education system to new realities," he said. — The modern tourism industry actively uses digital technology, online booking, a hotel management system, CRM systems, and Big Data to analyze demand, but secondary specialized education programs treat these topics rather superficially or they are completely absent in the learning process.
The expert noted that there is a growing demand for sustainable tourism in the world, and there are more and more environmentally responsible hotels, but vocational education programs rarely pay attention to the study of environmental standards, and students do not know the system of separate waste collection. There are also problems with mastering soft skills.
"Hotel employees interact directly with customers, and in the hotel business and tourism it is important to be able to communicate competently, resolve conflict situations, and work in a multicultural environment, but they often lack practice in this area," he said. — In addition, employees often perform several tasks — for example, hotel administrators simultaneously answer calls and resolve booking issues, however, SPO programs do not always pay attention to the development of multitasking skills.
According to the expert, the same problems are typical for university graduates: the lack of a number of profiles, insufficient practical training, lack of understanding of the career trajectory.
— Currently, graduates' qualifications do not meet the requirements of the industry. And here we can say that the low attractiveness of education in the field of tourism for applicants leads to a low basic level of students," he said. — It is necessary to introduce new areas of training in higher education: for example, sustainable tourism management, digital transformation in tourism and hospitality, international tourism, profile development — digital marketing in tourism, hotel chain management, management of tourist territories development.
Samvel Sarukhanyan said that an atlas of professions is currently being prepared, on the basis of which it will be possible to change the Federal State Educational Standard.
— It is necessary to switch to a practice-oriented approach, according to which six months will be spent studying, six months will be spent working. Or three months," he suggested. — Professional knowledge must be introduced from the very first year.
He also noted that, after graduating from an educational institution, now an employee must have at least three specialties.
— These may be related specialties. For example, a cook, he's a baker, he's a pastry chef," said the expert. — A waiter should understand how a bartender works and who a barista is. These are related things, and we have very narrow profiles right now.
The council's canoes also offered to work out changes in the entertainment sector separately — judging by the requests, it will develop greatly.
Maxim Reshetnikov called for the inclusion of measures for teacher training in the plans and development.
— We need to build a system of continuous professional upgrade of teaching staff at all stages, — said the minister.
How many employees are needed in tourism
There are currently 1 million people working in the tourism sector in Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said in February 2025. The need for employees is another 250 thousand people.
According to the Ministry of Economic Development, by 2030 it will amount to 400 thousand people. In total, 100 universities and 1.3 thousand colleges teach in the field of tourism in the country.
Samvel Sarukhanyan noted at the council meeting that 74% of hotel employees do not have the appropriate qualifications.
—By 2035, 800,000 vacancies are expected in the country, and this is a challenge," he said. — Cooks are the most in demand now, I would note their extreme shortage, the same situation with waiters and maids.
According to the HR service hh.ru Since the beginning of the year, 130.5 thousand vacancies have been opened in Russia in the professional field of Tourism, hotels, restaurants. This is 7% less than in the same period last year. At the same time, there are 4.4 active resumes per vacancy in this field, which indicates moderate competition among applicants.
"But in 2024, there were 660.7 thousand vacancies in this area, in 2023 — 544.5 thousand, that is, year—on-year demand increased by 21%," said the research director. hh.ru Maria Ignatova. — In 2024, there were an average of 3.4 resumes per vacancy, in 2023 - 3.9, which is below the norm and indicates a shortage of personnel.
Cooks (1.7 resumes per vacancy) and cleaners (3.7 resumes per vacancy) are in short supply among professionals who enter the professional field of Tourism, hotels, restaurants.
— In other cases, there is moderate (for example, a restaurant manager — 6.5 resumes) or even increased (waiter — 8.3, hostess — 8.7, tourism manager — 11.1, administrator — 14.8 resumes per vacancy) competition among applicants, — she said.
By the end of 2024, the number of vacancies in tourism increased by 20%, according to the HR service SuperJob.
"The most sought-after categories of staff are cooks/bakers, kitchen staff, hotel attendants. In January–March 2025, the number of resumes in the hotel and restaurant business increased by 8%, the press service of the service reported. — There are no more people in the labor market, most of the specialists who have posted resumes already have jobs and are looking for higher salaries. Due to their transitions between employers, the number of vacancies does not change: the appearance of a person in a new company leads to a vacancy in the old one."
Adapting to the shortage of staff, employers are paying more attention to staff retention programs, and they are also hiring young professionals more often, SuperJob said. So, in 2024, 68% of employers reported that they accept young specialists for internships: 27% have developed special programs. Every second representative of the companies where interns are accepted claims that employment based on the results of the internship is offered to the majority of young professionals.
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