In Vitebsk, kindergarten teachers, accountants, and narrow-specialty doctors are in highest demand

While the President has sent the draft decree on stimulating employment for revision, those who are now referred to as idlers have gained additional time and opportunity to find employment independently, without government reminders, and avoid paying the proposed annual lump-sum fee of 20 base units. Citizens must decide for themselves how to use this deferral: spend the remaining time on a "sweet life" or seriously engage in job searching.

There are many more opportunities for the latter. For example, the Department for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee informed us that as of January 1, 2015, there were 994 vacancies available to job seekers, of which 640 were for blue-collar professions. 807 positions were offered by state enterprises and institutions, while private businesses accounted for 186. At the beginning of the year, 1362 unemployed individuals were registered with the department, resulting in 1.4 people per vacancy. The most in-demand professions in the regional center are kindergarten teachers, accountants, and narrow-specialty doctors. However, according to Marina Budkevich, Deputy Head of the Department, the modern labor market is more focused on blue-collar professions. Often, there is a need for janitors, junior medical staff, kitchen workers, green construction workers, painters, seamstresses, and cleaners. Citizens registered as unemployed, in accordance with the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Employment of the Population", can undergo training, retraining, or improve their qualifications. This applies to those who cannot find suitable work due to a lack of necessary qualifications (specialty), wish to change their profession (specialty, occupation) because their previous one is not in demand, or if they have lost the ability or developed contraindications for performing work in their previous profession (specialty).

In addition to state services, there are also other entities, such as recruitment agencies, which, for a certain fee, provide services to enterprises for personnel selection, as well as assistance to job seekers in finding employment. Elena Nikonova, founder of the recruitment agency "Infocenter Nashi Kadry", explained how to find a job with their help.

– Firstly, – says Elena, – for job seekers, there is the "Unified Employment Information Service", where for a reasonable price you can get the most complete information about vacancies in Vitebsk, Polotsk, Novopolotsk, as well as Grodno, Mogilev, and Brest. We have over 7,000 offers in our database. Moreover, I want to draw attention to the fact that the vacancies are real and valid at the time of contacting the service. It is updated daily. In Vitebsk alone, over 100 new vacancies are received per day. As for specialties, the range is huge, from general labor to enterprise management. Also, anyone can leave their resume on the website. The database is in demand both by agency employees when selecting specialists for organizations' requests, and by employers who are independently searching for personnel.

In practice, it turns out that about 80-90% of job seekers who respond to a particular vacancy do not have the proper experience or even basic knowledge in the given profession, although many potentially could be good employees. And companies often lack the time and desire to train them; everyone wants a ready-made specialist. Therefore, we have launched a new project, "Employment through Training", with its help, you can gain specific knowledge in a profession.

In February, training will be held in the specialties of “Sales Manager” and “Sales Consultant”. Upon completion of the classes, participants will receive a certificate of course completion, as well as consulting support for the following month. Those who wish will be provided with the opportunity for on-the-job training to consolidate their skills, letters of recommendation, and assistance in employment. We hope that the acquired knowledge will allow applicants to find work faster, and enterprises to receive qualified personnel.

It turns out that those who seek will always find. Excuses about the lack of jobs will not pass. The opportunity to avoid the status of an idler is provided by both the state and private companies; all that remains is to take advantage of it. As it turns out in practice, not everyone has this desire; many continue to follow the principle “work, go to Fedot”, but this is for now.

Natalia Kamleva, "Vitebskiye Vesti"