Main Department for Education: Colleges of the Vitebsk region plan to enroll more than 6.7 thousand students

The demand for turners, tractor drivers-machinists, and seamstresses has increased in the Vitebsk region, reported Alexander Korolev, Head of the Vocational Education Department of the Main Department for Education of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee.

Among the in-demand blue-collar professions in the region's labor market, specialists highlight several positions. The region's enterprises currently require repair fitters, turners, milling machine operators, CNC machine operators, livestock breeders, and agricultural production tractor drivers-machinists. There is also demand for seamstresses and shoe assemblers.

This year, it is planned to enroll over 6.7 thousand students in the colleges of the Vitebsk region. Almost 3.9 thousand of them will be for vocational-technical education, and the remaining over 2.8 thousand for secondary specialized education.

"We see an increased demand for certain specialties. For example, in metalworking, this is due to the development of this industry, particularly in the Orsha region and Vitebsk. We have started receiving large orders from machine-building enterprises. Of course, we primarily focus on mass professions and train personnel for them. Speaking about rural areas, agricultural production tractor drivers-machinists, repair fitters for agricultural machinery and equipment, car drivers, and welders are traditionally in demand. We focus on the needs of the region's economic sectors," explained the head of the department.

He noted that difficulties in fulfilling the order for personnel training are being addressed. One shoe enterprise in the region alone leaves applications for 130 people in the state system for personnel ordering. However, the corresponding professions are not very popular among teenagers and school leavers. "Sometimes school leavers do not want to enroll in specialties related to certain fields, considering the difficult working conditions, wages, and other nuances," said Alexander Korolev. "We believe the reason is also the unwillingness of young people to work, improve their skills, and take responsibility."

Last year, the Vitebsk region exceeded the plan for student enrollment in colleges and plans to increase it. "It is important here to also consider the fact that the number of school graduates has not significantly increased in recent years, remaining at approximately the same level. In the coming years, it will even decrease - this is the peculiarity. In the Vitebsk region, 50% of ninth-graders go on to pursue education in secondary vocational education institutions. If we take this indicator for the republic as a whole, it is less than 40%," explained the head of the department. "We are ready to train everyone who comes to us. We also try to work with graduates of general secondary education institutions from other regions, particularly Minsk and Mogilev. Career guidance work is serious, and new forms of it are emerging - targeted training fairs, when enterprises and educational institutions come to schools. And directly there, work is carried out to attract school graduates and subsequently conclude targeted contracts with them for further education in vocational education institutions."

"BELTA"