Employment’s problems of
youth and the unemployed in the Russian Federation
Deeva N.N.
The Birobidzhan Branch
Office of the Amur State University, Russia
Transition to a market way of development in Russia
caused unemployment inevitably which is an essential streak of a market
economy. 4,900,000 million people were classified as the unemployed according
to the methodology of International Labour Organization (ILO); and the total potential
of unemployment is 12 per cent of economically active population (9,000,000
million people), subject to persons who have to work half a day already in
June, 1996.
Under the circumstances it is important to study and
use wide experience of major industrial countries in order to bring down
unemployment, to ease its consequences. An active policy is absolutely
necessary in labor market, the main aims of which are to help the unemployed to
find work as fast as possible, to assist people with limited abilities, to
organize social work and temporary employment, to develop self-employment and
entrepreneurship, professional study and consulting.
Attention attracted by major industrial countries to
active programs in labor market and redistribution of their resources’
considerable proportion in favor of these programs (from 0.4 % GDP in the USA
and Canada to 2 % in Sweden) are caused by many factors. First of all the
active policy supports not only those who lost work, but also encourages every
citizen’s activeness directed to work’s search what in turn reduces his
dependence from gains’ support at the expense of social benefits (it means
reducing of the state budget’s costs) and also looses social intensity which is
connected with the unemployed hard mental state. Secondly, the active policy
increases working efficiency in whole and in particular, promotes economy’s
restructuring improving the effectiveness of labour resources’ use.
The experience of France is interesting for there are
agencies of employment which organize special circles for the unemployed. They
have classes about “How should people look for a job?” twice or three times a
week. They discuss varied ways of talks with future employees and other
questions which concern the rules of behavior while searching for a vacancy.
The activities of these circles are enough efficient: they help 40% of those
who attend their classes to select an appropriate vacancy. In spite of
efficiency of the government service is high only the minor part of the unemployed
finds appropriate vacancies mainly which demand a low qualification. In Sweden
only 35 per cent of unemployed people appeal to a bureau of employment. In
France 750,000 thousand people look for a job appealing to state agencies. Even
in the USA only 5 per cent of people find works using the government service of
unemployment in spite of there are 300 banks of vacancies. In many cases
private agencies of employment appear to be more promising. But the national
service often is considered to be an establishment for losers.
There is one more measure of the government to improve
information about labour market. It is publication of the data about future
demand for different professions. It is very important for students and the
unemployed. However, these publications have a lot of possibilities for
mistakes, for example, there are average numbers which concern the whole
country, but tendencies may be different in regional market labours. Demand for
labour does not always take into account changes of salaries.
As to the basic principles of the Russian service of
employment’s work, they correspond to the international practice. According to
the law on Employment of the population in the Russian Federation “the state
guarantees citizens…free assistance in selection of an appropriate job and
employment” (paragraph 1 of article 12), and “employment’s service is obliged…
to inform workers and employers who appeal to employment’s service about a
possibility to get a job and guarantee work force, about demands which are
placed to citizens who want to find a job; to help citizens while choosing an
appropriate job, and employers in selection of necessary workers” (paragraph 1
of article 26). The Russian “agencies of employment’s service provide published
statistic data and information about supply and demand for work force,
possibilities of employment as well as bureaus of major industrial countries”
(paragraph 2 of article 26 of the law on Employment of the population in the
Russian Federation). Activities which are carried out by our agencies of
employment are very useful for those who want to find an appropriate vacancy
(these agencies helped 1,800,000 million people to get a job in 1995). But the
agencies face such difficulties as absence of reliable informational systems
including necessary equipment, software, steady contacts with employers and
workers. Under the circumstances it is necessary to increase the sphere of
labour mediation with the help of such means as multifunctional exchange of
labour force which deal with different professional groups of workers including
knowledge workers; various career fairs; dedicated exchanges which are for
concrete population categories, woman’s, youth’s and etc. The mass media – the
press, the radio, television – can play a significant role at present. It is
necessary to issue the bulletin about vacancies, newspapers for those who are
seeking for a job, booklets helping correctly to fill questionnaires, tests,
and memos containing rules of behavior in the market of labour force for those
who fear to lose a job or have lost it already.
Programs of
training and retraining. Many scientists accept
this direction as basic while active policy implementation in labour market for
prospects of employment especially under the circumstances of restructuring are
firmly connected with development of human resources: a good education and
qualification prevent workers from unemployment. The number of unemployed who
occupied mainly in brain work is lower twice or three times than the number of
manual labour workers, and the norm of workers who obey a high qualification is
lower four – seven times in compare with others in the USA. The same is in the
countries of Eastern Europe: at present there are the highest levels of
unemployment among unskilled workers. The programs are worked out and adopted
at the level of legislative agencies or carried out by the community of the
state and entrepreneurs at personnel training and retraining organization.
First of all they focus on the persons who lost work for their out of date
professions and those who cannot work their specialities because of illness,
youth who haven’t got necessary education, housewives decided to come back to
work. Usually the government service of employment seeks out applicants for
training, organizes training and provides scholarships.
The aim of training is to give people a profession of
wide profile. The training is very efficient because of using of individual
work plans which take into account abilities and knowledge of every student, a
modular principle of curricula and present equipping of workshops including
computers. Leading specialists of universities and industrial firms are
attracted to design training courses. Salaries of academic staff are the same
as for such workers in private sector. The overall average length of training
is from several weeks to three years depending on the complexity of a
profession, individual training, and abilities of a student. Such centers can
be state and private as well. In the latter case the service of employment
concludes contracts with them by tender, foreseeing state financing of a
program (including scholarships) and control over the quality of training, and
also finding of a job with the salary is not lower the definite limit for those
who have already finished training.
Similar measures are foreseen by the Russian
legislation: “Unemployed citizens have a right to free professional
orientation, training, retraining in the direction of the service of
employment” (article 9 of the law on Employment of the population in the
Russian Federation); the right which is guaranteed by the state (paragraph 2 of
article 26, article 23 and paragraph 1 of article 26 of the law on Employment
of the population in the Russian Federation). But there is a difficulty to
implement these measures because of the following reasons. Firstly, the present
net of training and retraining of implements focuses mainly on mass professions
to reduce their shortage but does not on needs of labour forces’ market
suggesting flexibility of reaction on changing situations in the field of
labour demand and supply. Besides it is traditionally counted on primary
training of youth and improvement of skills within the limits of a specialty,
but is not on retraining of adult population left without work and earnings. At
last the government service of employment has not its own educational net,
efficient methods of teaching and experienced stuff of instructors and
teachers. The experience of major industrial countries shows that only cooperation
of universities, technical schools and industrial companies lets them to solve
a problem of the present stuff’s training. It includes opening of training
centers especially in the field of high technologies, organization and
realization of target scientific programs, collective designing of training
courses, creating of the system of continuous training and retraining. The
close cooperation of higher educational establishments, technical schools,
vocational schools and production is the key of overcoming the crisis of the
whole system of training and retraining in our country. Cooperation in the
field of designing and mastering of new technologies on the basis of contracts,
making of collective innovation firms, reciprocal services at guaranteeing training
workshops of up-to-date equipment, organization of students’ practice,
development of the present system of training and retraining lets us to
increase the quality of labour resources and at the same time simplify the
problem of employment of graduating students, decreasing youth and structural
unemployment.
Much attention is directed to youth in order to
improve their position in labour market. For this purpose such activities as
compensation of expenses’ employers connected with involvement of youth and
using youth’s labour including making of special training jobs; opening of
specialized youth centers of employment, social and psychological adaptation of
graduating students; wide information about possibilities of getting an
additional profession (specialty) in order to find work; organization of
temporary employment of youth; realization of youth entrepreneurial activity’s
development’s projects, self-employment, designing training courses and
rendering of financial support to youth in order to open one’s own business;
improvement of quota mechanism of vacancies for graduating students are carried
out.
A list of literature
1.
http://www.infox.ru/business/career/2009/11/13/lubiova.phtml
2.
Electronic
resource: http:www.e-college.ru
3.
Electronic
resource: http:www.hr-portal.ru
4.
The Federal law from 20.04.1996 ¹
36-FL (edit from 27.07.2010) On Employment of the population in the Russian
Federation.