Petersburgers 35+ have become more likely to choose college education

Residents of St. Petersburg, who have already turned 35, continue their studies in colleges and technical schools en masse. In the 2025-2026 academic year, the competition for colleges has grown to 5.5 people per place. People with higher education of 35+ form a significant competition for school graduates.

According to Delovoy Peterburg, these data indicate an increase in the prestige of secondary vocational education. The number of professions in this segment has increased, but the number of training places has increased slightly, the newspaper notes. Tuition has increased insignificantly, with the exception of IT areas.

Experts believe that the request for commercial training is formed by people over the age of 35 who want to get a working specialty. Many "age-related" applicants enter budget places through retraining programs.
In addition, business provides demand for secondary vocational education, which trains personnel for itself. Some large companies even open their own training centers.

According to opinion polls, more than 50% of university graduates do not find a job in their specialty, and in secondary vocational education this figure is about 33%. It turned out that adult applicants are more motivated and complete their studies, as they plan to change their profession, writes 78.ru .

Earlier, on February 12, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the government of the Russian Federation to consider changing the name of secondary vocational education and submit a corresponding report by July 1. In addition, the head of state instructed to include teamwork tasks in the programs of school Olympiads and competitions. Advanced training in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) was also to be provided for teachers.

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