Educational prescription: how the Moscow authorities encourage schoolchildren to get professions

Over the past year, the Moscow authorities have repeatedly stated a record low unemployment rate. It seems that such a picture cannot but please. However, there is a second side to the coin — a huge shortage of personnel in all areas of the economy. There is a particularly acute shortage of skilled labor. To date, more than 500,000 vacancies have been opened in Moscow, 75% of which are intended for specialists with secondary vocational education (SPE). The Moscow authorities plan to meet the need for personnel with the help of graduates of city colleges — in the new academic year, all Moscow ninth graders who decided to pursue a profession were guaranteed the opportunity to study for free. In addition, the number of places in the capital's colleges has been increased to 37 thousand, and admission will be based on the results of the OGE in two subjects — Russian and mathematics. About how the city closes the shortage of working professions, which professions are most in demand in the capital and which companies cooperate with Moscow colleges — in the material of Izvestia.

New opportunities in metropolitan colleges

Moscow has become one of the three regions participating in an experiment to expand opportunities for secondary vocational education, the law on which the President of Russia signed on April 1.

This year, the capital's ninth—graders, who plan to continue receiving secondary vocational education, will take only two subjects in the framework of the OGE - Russian and mathematics.

Students who decide to go to grades 10 and 11, as before, will take four subjects.

According to Anastasia Rakova, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Social Development, almost 25,000 ninth graders have already chosen two exams instead of four.

"We see that these are completely different children, almost a third of them are students with very high educational results who could continue their education in the tenth grade. But at the same time, they consciously prefer colleges and practical education," the vice mayor noted.

The college admission campaign will begin at the end of June. Applicants can apply for five majors, distributing them among one or more educational institutions. There are 63 colleges in Moscow that offer training in more than 150 specialties. Starting from the 2025 academic year, most training programs are designed for three years, they are formed taking into account the requirements of potential employers.

It is also important that almost a third of all teachers at Moscow colleges are specialists with real—world work experience.

"About 30% of the industrial training masters came to the vocational training system from the real sector. The new college teacher training system includes mandatory internships with partner employers. In addition, colleges actively attract part—time university professors and professionals from enterprises," added Rakova.

More than 3,000 companies are among the partners participating in the new college teacher training system.

What is the situation on the labor market

The Moscow labor market remains a "candidate's market." On average, there are more than 20 vacancies per applicant — there are plenty to choose from. About 375 thousand vacancies are available for specialists with secondary vocational education.

In which industries is the shortage of personnel most acute?

First of all, we are talking about the areas of trade and finance, where more than 150,000 vacancies have been recorded.

More than 100 thousand vacancies are represented in construction and industry. The industry is particularly in need of engineers, technologists, and highly skilled workers. It turns out that the precepts of parents "if you grow up, you will be an engineer" are really relevant today. The shortage of personnel is no less noticeable in the service sector, from the restaurant business to the beauty industry. There are more than 50 thousand vacancies in this industry in the database of the Moscow employment service.

According to analytical data from Avito Rabota, demand in Moscow is shifting towards the service sector today. This is largely due to the general structure of the urban economy, where the service sector has historically dominated, creating a need for qualified mid-level staff. The largest increase in vacancies in Moscow in the first quarter of 2025 was recorded in such areas as car sales and maintenance (+166%), repair of machinery and equipment (+152%), fitness and beauty salons (+137%).

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What other areas are critically short of workers

"At the moment, the service sector is leading in requests for college graduates in Moscow, remaining a key employer for them. This is especially true in areas where technical competencies are required, such as car service and equipment repair, or narrow—profile skills such as cosmetology or fitness," said Roman Gubanov, Avito Work's Development Director.

"The service sector is now actively attracting graduates of Moscow colleges, inviting them to study, job fairs and other thematic events. There are many students and young people employed in this industry who consider offers not only as a temporary part-time job, but as a stable and developing career in the future, so there are always vacant positions for them. I assume that the construction and retail sectors are also in dire need of young specialists," said Alexandra Bendetskaya, Head of the VASILCHUKI Chaihona No. 1 Recruitment and Adaptation Department.

Who do Moscow colleges cooperate with?

Various companies cooperate with Moscow colleges, which are ready to offer jobs to young specialists. These are more than 3 thousand enterprises, holdings, factories, in particular Gazprom, Rostec, Rosatom, Moscow Metro, Rostelecom, Sberbank, Rosselkhoznadzor, Mosgortrans, Mosenergo and Moskvich. 95% of college students get a job in their specialty in the first year after graduation, and a third of students start working while still studying.

Roman Fomin, director of the Moscow Automobile and Road College, said that 70% of the training time is devoted to practical exercises.

— From the very first year, the guys start working at real enterprises, they master not only theory, but also the skills for their future profession, — he said. — It is possible to combine study and work from the second year, which allows students to earn and develop their professional potential.

Ekaterina Kosogorova, Deputy General Director of the Moscow Oil Refinery, called the cooperation with the 26th Cadre College in Moscow (College of Architecture, Design and Reengineering) valuable.

"This is a participant in the Gazprom Neft College League program, which aims to help students prepare for future jobs in industry," she said. — Students are trained in accordance with the requirements of the company, and college teachers receive our full methodological support. We invite students to work internships and internships. We offer employment to the best graduates.

Roman Titov, Deputy General Director for Development of Adaptto Electric Drive Laboratory LLC, said that the company cooperates with several institutions of secondary vocational education and, in particular, with the Moscow Industrial College.

"For our part, we are actively involved in the development of training modules, which helps to integrate the most modern technologies and standards used in our company into training," he said. — Students undergo practical training at our production base, get acquainted with the equipment and corporate culture, which forms loyalty and motivation for future employees to work.

Lyudmila Meshcheryakova, Deputy Head of Retail Business Development at VTB Bank, noted the cooperation with the Moscow College of Business Technologies.

— Together with the teachers and the administration, we are developing projects for workshops and a banking laboratory. The Bank is selecting candidates for training, industrial and postgraduate internships," she said.

Pavel Kovalev, Deputy head of the Moscow Metro for Personnel Management, noted that thanks to the large-scale program for the development of the Moscow metro, the number of new jobs is constantly growing. And the solution to the personnel issue was a joint project of the metro and the Moscow College of Transport to customize secondary vocational education. Currently, more than 1,700 students are studying under this project.