People’s perception of secondary vocational education in Russia has changed significantly in recent years. Anna Fedorova, political scientist and expert at the Expert Institute for Social Research (EISR), stated this after the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the participants and winners of the “Professionals” championship.
He emphasized that previously people thought that secondary vocational education did not bring any hope in life.
“Everyone was trying to get any of the most seedy higher education. And before our eyes, the situation has changed dramatically over the last 10 years. First of all, the prestige of blue-collar professions has increased significantly in Russia. Secondly, due to the development of technology, it is now necessary to spend less effort and perseverance than higher education to fully master some professions,” said Fedorova.
According to him, people who specialize in various complex specialties earn no less than people with higher education.
“As a result, we see the statistics. More and more young people choose a working profession for themselves, not out of despair and helplessness, but absolutely consciously and understanding their prospects in life. “They choose secondary vocational education, they choose to develop further in this direction, and they understand that this is not a life sentence, but on the contrary, these are great opportunities that open up to people,” emphasized the political scientist.
He also noted that the federal project “Professionalism” covers about 1000 enterprises. “We are aiming for the most important thing – to make a person taking up a working profession feel confident that he will be in demand in the labor market and can quickly start working full-time,” Fedorova said.
According to him, this is often an important factor for graduates. “So the opportunity to work in close connection with businesses is huge,” the expert said.