Cadres decide everything: how to deal with the shortage of specialists in Russia
Unemployment in Russia is at a historic low. At the same time, the Russian economy is facing a shortage of workers. Against the background of a shortage of personnel, there is a growing demand for new professions, to meet which retraining programs are being implemented at the state level. Since the beginning of 2026, about 64.5 thousand people have been retrained. How new specialists are taught in Russia and where the personnel shortage is most acute — in the "Izvestia" material.
Change of profession
At the moment, the Russian economy is facing a shortage of workers, which, according to various estimates, is about 1.5–2.5 million people. At the same time, unemployment has reached a historic low of about 2.2%. And, according to the official forecasts of the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the personnel situation may become even more tense in the coming years. By 2030, the deficit is expected to increase to 3.1 million specialists.
Under these conditions, Russia has a large-scale system of assistance in changing professions. Its main task is to promptly prepare people for the required specialties and thereby partially compensate for the personnel shortage. In particular, the main features are collected within the framework of the national project "Cadres", launched by the decision of the President. In the first nine months of 2026, about 64.5 thousand people completed professional retraining within the framework of the national project "Cadres". The program is implemented under the federal project "Active measures to promote employment".
The coordination is handled by the Russian Ministry of Labor. Participants can learn new areas of training free of charge as part of existing employment support measures. You can choose the appropriate program and apply on the digital platform "Work in Russia". A list of available courses of study is also published there.
Before starting their studies, applicants can usually receive career guidance at the "Work in Russia" recruitment centers. Such testing helps to identify the basic skills and compare them with relevant vacancies in a particular region. According to data for the first half of 2026, more than 620 thousand Russians used this service. At the same time, classes are conducted by the RANEPA, Tomsk State University, the All-Russian Research Institute of Labor and other large organizations. In addition, distance learning and hybrid learning formats are available to participants.
Separately, it is worth noting the role of tripartite agreements between a citizen, a training center and a future employer. In fact, such a mechanism directly links training with subsequent employment and allows you to focus on a specific workplace in advance. For low-income citizens, in turn, a social contract is provided: the state can pay a living wage for the period of retraining, as well as provide support when starting their own business.
According to statistics, interest in changing qualifications has increased significantly in 2026. In the first months of the year alone, Russians sent over 123 thousand applications, and more than 5.7 thousand programs created taking into account the staffing needs of the regions are already available on the portal. At the same time, the share of graduates who find a job after graduation or start working as self-employed consistently exceeds 80%. According to experts, the attitude towards education itself is gradually changing: one diploma for a whole career is no longer enough today. Therefore, more and more people are learning new skills in order to increase income, professional development, or switch to remote employment.
At the same time, artificial intelligence and IT certainly stand out among the most sought-after areas. Thousands of people choose to work with neural networks. There is also a high interest in 1C and analytics specialists. At the same time, the demand for professions in the real sector is also growing. In particular, employers still need welders, electricians and machinists of special equipment.
Eliminating the deficit
Today, Russian enterprises are particularly acutely faced with a shortage of workers in industry, construction, IT, transport and housing and communal services. At the same time, due to historically low unemployment, employers are increasingly having to compete for specialists. Therefore, within the framework of the national project "Cadres" and regional programs, the state and business are launching a whole range of measures to gradually reduce the shortage of personnel.
First of all, serious problems are observed in industry and the defense industry. Turners, milling operators, operators of numerically controlled machines, welders, locksmiths and design engineers are especially in demand here. In turn, IT companies lack software developers, information security specialists, data engineers, and AI system architects. In addition, CE heavy truck drivers, special equipment drivers, couriers and warehouse pickers are urgently needed in the logistics sector.
The shortage of personnel is particularly acute in relation to unskilled specialists and operators of various equipment, that is, in areas that do not require long-term professional training and are more often mastered after short-term courses, Dmitry Zemlyansky, director of the Research Center for Spatial Analysis and Regional Diagnostics at the IPEI Presidential Academy, told "Izvestia". In this regard, the national project's event is absolutely timely and meets the current situation.
At the same time, there is a demand for competencies that were not in high demand until recently, added Yaroslav Avdiyev, an expert with the "Popular Front". Specialists are needed who are able to design, implement and operate robotic systems, rebuild production processes taking into account robotics, and apply AI to solve industry-specific tasks.
An equally noticeable problem persists in the social sphere. There are still not enough doctors of narrow specialties, secondary medical staff and teachers in the regions, especially teachers of mathematics, physics and foreign languages. In order to train the right employees faster, the "Professionalism" program is being developed. Within the framework of this project, the terms of study for scarce professions are reduced, and students from the first year are oriented towards specific enterprises. About 80-85% of the studies are spent on practical training directly at the workplace, and the employer guarantees further employment.
However, salaries alone are often not enough to attract and retain employees today. Therefore, companies are expanding social packages: they offer VMI with dentistry, pay for gym subscriptions, compensate for rental housing for nonresident specialists and pay "lifting fees" when moving to another region. At the same time, the government supports workers in deficit areas in IT and defense industry. In particular, they have preferential mortgages and a deferral from conscription when working at key enterprises.
Special attention is paid to labor mobility between regions. The authorities provide subsidies to companies that attract workers from areas with higher unemployment to areas where there is a particular shortage of specialists. Moreover, compensation per relocated employee can reach several hundred thousand rubles. These funds, as a rule, help to cover the costs of moving and settling in a new place, which makes changing the region more affordable.
Vectors of struggle
Until 2030, the Russian labor market is likely to develop against the background of a steady shortage of specialists. This is influenced by demographic changes and the restructuring of the economy. As a result, the very logic of hiring is gradually transforming: the market is shifting more and more from the employer to the applicant, and a qualified employee is becoming one of the main resources. Therefore, companies will have to not only look for new people, but also actively retrain, retain and support existing specialists.
First of all, employers will focus on staff retention by offering flexible working hours, health care, and psychological support. At the same time, there will be an increased demand for specialists who can work at the intersection of several fields, such as agronomists, geneticists, artificial intelligence lawyers, and engineers who understand industrial marketing. In addition, the shortage of workers will accelerate automation, as businesses will begin to use AI, robotics, and automated systems more widely. Against the background of a reduction in the proportion of employees aged 20-29, companies will also become more active in attracting and retraining people aged 50+ and 60+.
At the same time, obviously, the approach to education itself will have to be changed. One of the proposed models is "2+2+2 ": the student receives fundamental training for the first two years, chooses a profile based on the current market forecast, and devotes the last two years to a master's degree or internship and specialization for specific tasks of the employer. At the same time, budget places are proposed to be distributed using digital platforms of the Ministry of Labor, which will be able to predict the need for personnel for 5-7 years ahead. If there are already enough specialists in a particular profession in the region, the number of budget places in it can be reduced and resources can be directed to more in-demand areas.
Another important change is the development of microqualifications. This means that instead of years of training, a person will be able to master a particular skill in 3-6 months. For example, an engineer may need Python programming, then he receives the necessary microqualification and enters it into the state register. At the same time, it is proposed to strengthen business participation in personnel training through the development of "Professionalism": companies will be able to provide equipment and software, existing engineers and IT architects will conduct up to 50% of practical classes, and graduates' knowledge will be tested through an independent demonstration exam according to employers' standards.
At the same time, education should gradually shift to a career-long learning model. In this case, a school, college, or university ceases to be the final point of study. A person will be able to return to it every 3-5 years to update their skills at the expense of the state or the employer. This should help to respond more quickly to market changes and maintain the qualifications of employees in the face of technological and economic changes.
"Izvestia" sent a request to the Ministry of Labor, but no response had been received at the time of publication.
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