PROBLEMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND ASSISTANCE IN JOB PLACEMENT FOR GRADUATES OF HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

In the context of the development of market relations in the Russian Federation, there is a problem of employment of university graduates in their degree field and the lack of generally accepted assistance in finding a job for young professionals.

Job placement is the most important way to promote employment of the population, expressed in a system of organizational, economic and legal means.

It is worth noting that during the existence of the USSR and the planned economy, there were no such issues as unemployment and difficulty in finding a job in one's degree field. This was due to the fact that graduates were placed on a job, since universities had a direct connection with organizations in need of labor resources.

In modern time, in conditions of competition and market economy, this system is complicated. By granting training quotas the government provides assistance in finding jobs using employment services.

Nonetheless, despite the existing measures, the problem with young professionals’ employment persists, therefore, the assistance system needs to be supplemented.

Currently, in the Krasnoyarsk Region there is a regional program called Promotion of youth employment for the period up to 2030. This program reflects the statistics of youth employment in the region. For instance, in 2020, the unemployment rate at the ages between 15 and 24 years old was 12.8%, and at the age of 20 to 24 years old - 12.0%. It appears from the data obtained that it is necessary to focus on the measures to solve the issue of youth employment.

Possible causes of job placement issues university graduates face are identified in the scientific literature as follows:

• the lack of an effective system of interaction between universities and employers;
• the discrepancy between the demand and supply in the labor market;
• overstated requirements to employees;
• graduates being disappointed in their chosen profession.

The main issue is employers’ requirements to potential employees. Frequently, the main requirement for employment is the candidate's work experience, which former students either do not have or it is very limited. Consequently, employers need to reconsider the requirements they set for young professionals, or create special conditions for them that are different from the general employment procedure.

However, it is impossible to solve the issues considered above without the support from the government. In this regard, the question that arises is how a university can assist in the job placement of its graduates.

There have already been attempts to solve this problem. For instance, universities may enter into agreements of social partnership, both with potential employers and with the employment service. These agreements should contain not only the obligations of mutual informing of the parties, but also arrangements for students’ job placement.

In addition, career centers, such as the career center of the Siberian Federal University, play an important role in promoting employment. This organization promotes the employment of graduates of SibFU, both after graduation and during the holidays. The main activities of the career center include the following: advice on job placement; interaction with the local authorities, the territorial bodies of the state employment service; cooperation with potential employers; organizing public events, such as job fairs, career days, individual presentations of employer companies, training seminars; creating a database of graduates, as well as compiling and providing applicants with a list of open vacancies.

Nevertheless, despite the wide range of activities, the SibFU career center is of poor efficiency. In comparison, let us consider the coordination and analytics centre for employment of graduates of vocational education institutions of Bauman Moscow State Technical University.

Furthermore, let us compare the statistics for 2017. 4408 out of 6081 graduates of SibFU were employed. At the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, 1939 out of 2846 interviewed people were employed. These statistics only show the employment of those who were assisted by the center. Individuals who found work on their own were not included in the statistics.

In view of the foregoing, it can be concluded that employment assistance centers need to expand the range of activities they provide. Moreover, students should be aware of them, since many of them do not know that it is possible to obtain job placement assistance in their higher educational institution. Based on the above, I propose:

• To introduce rules regulating the establishment of contractual relations between universities and potential employers, regarding the issue of practical training for students and their further employment;
• To establish employers’ obligation to conduct annual internships for university students in order to increase their competitiveness in the labor market;
• To oblige students participating in the employment program to work in the organization that provided them with a workplace for a certain period, which is established by the agreement of the university and the employer;
• To test this system in several regions of our state in order to identify the advantages and disadvantages of the above-mentioned proposals.

References​:

1. Order of the Government of the Krasnoyarsk Territory No. 567-r dated 21.07.2022 "On the approval of the regional long-term program of the Krasnoyarsk Region "Promotion of youth employment for the period up to 2030".
2. О.В. Matskevich O.V., Prizhennikova A.N., Buyanova A.V. Labor Law of Russia [Trudovoe pravo Rossii], Moscow, 2022, p. 141.
3. Gracheva Y.V., Glebova G.F. Problems and Optimization Conditions of Students' Professional Identity Development (The Practice of Smolensk State University) [Issledovanie problem i uslovii optimizatsii protsessa professional'nogo samoopredeleniya studentov (iz opyta Smolenskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta)], LIFELONG EDUCATION: The 21st Century [Nepriryvnoe obrazovanie XXI veka], 2015, no. 2.
4. Sycheva V.O. Graduates' Employment: Challenges and Solutions [Trudoustroistvo vypusknikov vuzov: problemy i puti ikh resheniya],  Bulletin of the Volga Institute of Administration [Vestnik Povolzhskogo instituta upravleniya], 2016, no. 4.
5. Sycheva V.O. Activity ofuniversityemployment assistance centers for graduates [Deyatel'nost' vnutrivuzovskikh organizatsii po sodeistviyu v trudoustroistve vypusknikov],  Koncept Scientific and Methodological e-magazine [Nauchno-metodicheskii ehlektronnyi zhurnal «Kontsept»], 2016, no. 11.