About 950 people in the Vitebsk region found employment in the first quarter due to the creation of new production facilities

In the first quarter of 2016, about 950 people found employment due to the creation of new enterprises and production facilities in the Vitebsk region, - reported Tatyana Ovchinnikova, Deputy Head of the Department of Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

Currently, there are 3.1 unemployed people per vacancy in the region's labor market. The number of employed people in the economy in January-February 2016 was 514.1 thousand people, a decrease of 15.1 thousand people compared to the same period in 2015. In 2016-2020, during the structural transformation of the economy, labor force release will continue, which will require ensuring its flow into other economic activities, including the high-performance sector of the economy.

"In the region, it is planned to employ 3.3 thousand citizens in newly created jobs this year, including 2.1 thousand citizens through the creation of new enterprises. These figures are set for our region in Decree No. 78 "On Measures to Increase the Effectiveness of the Socio-Economic Complex of the Republic of Belarus". And by the order of the Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee, an increased target has been set – to employ 5 thousand people in new jobs. According to operational data, in January-March of this year, 952 citizens were employed due to the creation of new enterprises and production facilities, of which 552 were due to the creation of new enterprises," explained Tatyana Ovchinnikova. She emphasized that despite certain positive changes, there is still evidence of inefficient use of labor resources.

There is a disbalance in the supply and demand of labor by professional and qualification composition, a shortage of skilled personnel with an excess of labor, low competitiveness of certain categories of citizens, lack of motivation for work and uncertainty in career choice among youth, especially school graduates, and a decrease in the prestige of certain blue-collar professions among youth.

The Departments for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the city and district executive committees of the region are taking steps to regulate the situation. This includes training officially unemployed individuals in various professions in demand on the labor market (hairdresser, manicure and pedicure technician, shoe assembler, etc.). Special attention is paid to vocational training based on employer requests with a guarantee of subsequent employment. The organization of vocational training directly at the workplace under an individual program is also a priority. Unemployed individuals also receive assistance in organizing entrepreneurial activities in the form of subsidies (in 2015, 264 citizens received them). The most common types of entrepreneurial activities chosen by the unemployed are: repair and alteration of clothing, knitwear and other items, provision of services by hairdressing and beauty salons, shoe repair services, production of ritual products, and others.

Ekaterina Knyazeva, BELTA.