Putin holds a meeting of the State Council. The main thing

On December 25, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin holds a meeting of the State Council, which is devoted to personnel training for the Russian economy. As previously reported, the main topics of the meeting will be personnel forecasting, the development of artificial intelligence technologies, the adaptation of the education system to it, and much more. The main statements of the president are in the material of Izvestia.

About personnel training

Putin pointed out that personnel issues are not only comprehensive, they are fundamental to Russia's development. He also recalled that in 2025, the implementation of 19 national projects began, eight of them to ensure the country's technological leadership.

"All national projects are linked by a key goal — ensuring the sustainable development of the country and strengthening its sovereignty. The vast majority of our country's citizens, young people and people of different generations, participate in this great work. The achievement of our goals depends on their professionalism, knowledge, talent, and competence," Putin said.

About unemployment

The President said that the share of employed among the economically active population has reached 97.8%, and unemployment has dropped to 2.2%. He also recalled that youth unemployment is usually slightly higher, but there are positive developments here.: "Unemployment among citizens under the age of 34 is also steadily decreasing and in 2024 it amounted to 3.8%."

Since 2022, an additional 2.6 million people have been involved in the economy, which is a positive indicator.

The President also noted that there is currently a shortage of free labor on the labor market, while demand in certain areas of the economy is many times higher than supply, especially in the professional groups that are key to production — skilled workers and engineering personnel.

"There are almost 28 vacancies for one registered unemployed person with a working profession. Designers, technologists, and designers are especially in demand," he said.

In recent years, steps have been taken to change the situation, and the system of training engineers is changing.

About artificial intelligence

Putin noted during the meeting that the next 10-15 years will be a time of tremendous technological transformation and the development of artificial intelligence (AI).

"I'll start with a long-term horizon. We are talking about the upcoming 10-15 years. It is already obvious that this will be a time of tremendous technological transformation and rapid development of artificial intelligence. This is a major technological breakthrough, which, perhaps, the world's history has not yet known," he said.

He also pointed out that this period has already arrived. AI is the most disruptive technology that is rapidly conquering all areas of life.

The President added that everything will change, and we need to be prepared for this. Now, when solving current and medium-term personnel policy tasks, we need to think and prepare for the systemic changes that AI brings with it.

"Technological restructuring has always led to the disappearance of some professions and the emergence of other professions. But this time, the changes are more profound. The very principles of training specialists and their subsequent career growth are being radically transformed. The traditional trajectory of step—by-step career development from education, then the position of a junior employee, then to a manager, will change," the president noted.

He also clarified that the demand for individual specialties and top-level specialists will increase significantly, while AI will gradually replace entry-level workers, including creative and even intellectual work.

"The expansion of the use of artificial intelligence in production processes will not only replace individual operations, and therefore employees, but also, as I have already said, create new jobs — those that require the ability to set tasks and work with data, possess engineering thinking, and take responsibility," Putin explained.

About retraining and education

The President also added that against the background of the development of AI, Russia must change the entire training paradigm.

"Today, a person's competitive advantage is also the ability to work in a team. We've already talked about this more than once. It is no coincidence that in the new season of the Leaders of Russia contest, applications for participation are not submitted individually, but rather as part of a team, let's say, a team of like—minded people," Putin said.

Approaches to responding to the challenges associated with the development of AI, both at the federal and regional levels, must be formed in advance, the head of state said.

He also pointed out that it is important to remember that personnel is not a function, but primarily people.

"You can't live the old-fashioned way, it's very important not to lose the fundamentals of our education system at the same time. This is the formation of independent, creative thinking and analytical skills among schoolchildren and students, including the ability to critically evaluate proposals generated by artificial intelligence," the president said.

On the reorganization of institutions

Putin noted that the Ministry of Labor has prepared a meaningful national graduate employment rating, which, in the context of each educational institution, demonstrates the level of employment and the salary of graduates. He also suggested annually identifying 100 educational organizations that have demonstrated the worst results.

The President added that it is necessary for each of these organizations included in the rating, together with the regional authorities, to form and implement programs for the rehabilitation or reorganization of institutions.

"It is absolutely necessary to do this. We should not have any swamp here," the head of state stressed.

About labor resources

Putin pointed out that conditions for increasing the economic activity of residents should be created in the regions of the Russian Federation.

"Of course, each subject of the federation has its own characteristics, but almost everywhere it is necessary to create conditions for increasing the economic activity of residents. And I would like to emphasize that special attention should be paid here to veterans of the special military operation and their family members," the president said.

He also added that 12.2 million people need to be involved in the economy in the next seven years. In addition, it is necessary to optimize the sectoral employment structure by redistributing labor resources from areas where employment will decrease, where AI will replace people (financial and insurance activities, the public administration sector, and others).