On-the-job training should take up the lion's share of education - Nikolai Sherstnev
On-the-job training should take up the lion's share of the educational process. This was stated by the Chairman of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, Nikolai Sherstnev, at the regional conference of education and science workers in Vitebsk.
A topical issue in the new academic year will remain the systematic and targeted work on career guidance for students. Economic sectors need specialists with higher education for healthcare institutions, the agro-industrial complex, and the sphere of breakthrough technologies, but above all, qualified blue-collar workers. The vocational education system is designed to solve these tasks.
"To this end, it is necessary to improve approaches to the distribution of graduates from basic and secondary schools. We need to drastically improve the provision of vocational education institutions with training facilities and create conditions for training specialists at the level of the latest production technologies," said Nikolai Sherstnev.
He added that the main department for education of the regional executive committee must develop and implement a regional program for early career guidance for students and popularization of blue-collar professions in grades 7-9 by January 1, 2019. "Today, I can call the work on creating resource centers at the Gorodok State Agrarian-Technical and Polotsk State Chemical-Technological Colleges quite effective. Similar centers should be opened at the bases of the Vysotsky Vocational Lyceum and the Orsha Mechanical-Economic College. To address issues of interaction between vocational education institutions and sectors of the socio-economic complex and customer organizations, the regional executive committee has held relevant meetings and seminars. During the training of young people, they should be introduced to the realities of production. On-the-job training at enterprises should take up the lion's share of the educational process. Thus, on the initiative of the regional executive committee, new training documentation for the training of machine operators has been developed and approved, with an increase in production practice to five months. From September 1, we will be training young people according to new programs. The economy needs practitioners, not theorists," emphasized the head of the region.
According to him, training highly qualified specialists for enterprises, their retention in the region, and subsequent work for economic growth are the most important areas of work for all stakeholders. Victories of students from the region in international Olympiads in informatics, geography, and chemistry have become traditional.
"It is pleasing that the quality of education indicators have improved based on the results of Olympiads and scientific and practical conferences, and the results of the Centralized Test have improved. But this is not a reason for complacency: 4th or 5th place among the regions does not suit us. Of course, this cannot be achieved in a year, but we can become second in the country, and there must be positive dynamics to achieve this goal," Nikolai Sherstnev summarized, thanking the teachers for their work and congratulating them on the upcoming Knowledge Day.
Today, an oblast conference of education and science workers was held in Vitebsk. It brought together over 1,000 educators and guests. The participants focused on the results of educational institutions' preparation for the new academic year, the outcomes of the past academic year, and future tasks.