Increasing the prestige of agricultural professions will help solve the staffing issue in the region's agricultural organizations
It began with an familiarization with the material and technical base of this institution of education, one of the largest specialized institutions in the Vitebsk region, and an exhibition of achievements of the regional vocational-technical education.
As Nikolai Sherstnev emphasized, the goal is to modernize the training program for agricultural personnel, consolidating the efforts of interested parties on key aspects of this multifaceted issue: the need for specialists and their provision, career guidance, quality of training, staffing educational institutions, distribution and retention of young people in rural areas – taking into account the reduction of budget expenditures and the direction of saved funds for production development.
The basis for solving this extremely complex problem should be an increase in the prestige of agricultural professions. In this regard, the head of the region announced that an instruction has been given to double the salaries of livestock specialists.
The provision of managerial specialists in the regional agro-industrial complex is 94%, and working professionals – 96.4%. There is a shortage of 1160 tractor drivers-machinists, drivers, electric and gas welders, milking machine operators, etc.
According to Ivan Fedorov, Chairman of the Committee for Agriculture and Food of the Regional Executive Committee, the analysis indicates a trend towards a reduction in the additional need for labor resources until 2027.
The most in-demand specialists will be veterinarians, zootechnicians, veterinary technicians, tractor drivers-machinists, and milking machine operators. Over 5 years, the retention of young specialists has increased by 6.5% and currently stands at 53.5% of all graduates with agricultural professions.
The situation is better than in others in Verkhnedvinsk, Glubokskoye, Lepel, and Polotsk districts. More than half are distributed according to the parents' place of residence. This is where the targeted training of workers for the agro-industrial complex began. However, 97 out of 167 contracts last year were concluded by the Committee for Agriculture, meaning they are not directly related to specific districts and organizations. And Rector of the Vitebsk Veterinary Academy Nikolai Gavrichenko confirmed that there are districts where not a single targeted referral to the VSMV was issued, even though competition for paid education at the university is growing.
Agricultural personnel training is carried out in 12 institutions in the region, and vocational training is provided for 35 individual qualifications. After coordination with the Ministry of Education, 5 new specialties at the secondary vocational education level will be opened.
To achieve a balance in personnel training and vacancies for their distribution, in 2016, the Polotsk Agrarian and Economic College began to be reoriented to other sectors of the economy. In 2017, the Gorodok and Lepel Agrarian-Technical Colleges were reorganized, and this needs to be done in the Orsha district this year.
Based on the situation, the education department of the regional executive committee proposed a scheme for interaction between interested parties in agricultural personnel training for the long term. So. Career guidance in the districts ensures the enrollment of at least 45% of 9th-grade graduates in vocational education.
Agricultural organizations, together with specialized educational institutions, conclude tripartite training agreements whenever possible, which provide for student stipends and post-graduation work. The proportion of applicants for targeted training should be maximized during enrollment.
Educational institutions ensure the high-quality training of specialists in mass professions. In this regard, a proposal should be submitted to the Council of Ministers for the gratuitous equipping of major agricultural colleges with modern laboratories, with manufacturers providing samples of new equipment and technology.
Thus, at Gorodok College, together with the Kirov Tractor Plant of the Leningrad Region, a laboratory and a classroom are to be created by September 1, and in the future, a diagnostic station and a service station are to be equipped. These issues are being worked out with MTZ. Winter retraining of agricultural workers is also possible here.
Next, major enterprises are identified, which, together with the educational institution, will provide paid (at the expense of the enterprise, based on the scope of work performed) production practice for two to three groups of students, as well as short-term internships for production training masters, having resolved the necessary housing issues for this.
Director General of the Vitebsk Meat and Dairy Products Concern Viktor Slavytsky assured that agricultural enterprises of integration structures are capable of organizing effective practice for future agricultural workers.
According to the director of Gorodok College, Vladimir Shitko, this is excellently done by the Mazolovogaz agricultural enterprise, and work has begun in this direction with the Rudakovo agricultural enterprise.
Following the distribution, such enterprises select the best graduates. District executive committees should probably consider the possibility of full or partial exemption of their staff from local taxes.
The proposal to the Ministry of Education is to increase production practice in the training of specialists for the agro-industrial complex to 6-8 months. Reserves: reduce holidays from 8 weeks to 6 (after all, many students find part-time jobs during this time), study related specialized subjects, the number of consultations and electives, remove non-core courses from the program.
In accordance with regulatory documents, at Gorodok College, for the tractor driver qualification group A, B, D, driver category C, and agricultural machinery repairman of the 3rd category, practice has been increased from 340 to 628 hours, but more is needed to master the entire range of work (from sowing to harvesting and plowing) and equipment.
– And since newly trained personnel often go into the army after a month and do not return, as the period of mandatory work expires by then, it is proposed to appeal to the head of state with a proposal to introduce a two-year deferment from service for conscripts working in the agro-industrial complex under distribution. The education system of the Vitebsk region is ready to prepare and implement experimental plans for the operational change in the training structure of agricultural personnel, – said **Dmitry Khoma, Head of the Education Department of the Regional Executive Committee**.
The meeting contributed to the development of proposals that should yield results. The Governor urged its participants to take synchronized actions to create a flexible system for training, retraining, and professional development of personnel for the agro-industrial complex, enhance the professional competence of pedagogical staff, and optimize the network of specialized educational institutions. The agricultural landscape of the northern part of the country in the near future depends on this.