The specialist spoke about the main trends in the labor market in 2026

The main trend in the labor market in 2026 is companies investing in the training and retraining of their employees. Anastasia Gorelkina, an expert in the field of corporate governance and personnel training, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC HC Siberian Business Union, member of the Board of Directors of JSC Azot, told Izvestia on February 11.

According to the expert, the demand for a completely new type of specialists is currently growing. The production sites launched over the past year, from metalwork factories to electronics enterprises, require engineers who understand technological processes and digital control systems.

"It's not narrow specialists who are valued now, but those who know how to combine different fields of knowledge: a biologist with programming skills, a logistician with an understanding of data analytics, a doctor who understands digital diagnostics. <...> This opens up opportunities for career reversals that previously seemed unrealistic," Gorelkina said.

As the expert noted, the main trend in 2026 is the transition to a skills economy. Now companies are investing in training their employees, because, according to Gorelkina, it is easier to grow the necessary specialist in the company than to look for him in the labor market for years. Retraining programs, corporate universities, mentoring — all this is becoming necessary, the expert added.

"The multigenerational approach is particularly effective: when experienced professionals transfer their accumulated knowledge to young employees, who bring energy and a fresh perspective. This synergy in a culture of trust allows you to develop teams intensively, without excessive costs for external hiring or total automation, which still will not solve all tasks. For people, this means one thing: if you are ready to learn and grow, the market will offer options," Gorelkina said.

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Maria Agapova, HR manager of the Solar Staff freelance automation service, told Izvestia on January 27 that the shortage of professional skills is becoming one of the key factors determining the development of the labor market in the coming years. According to her, this trend is confirmed by global forecasts: digitalization, the introduction of artificial intelligence and automation are changing the requirements for specialists faster than the market has time to adapt to them.

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