Valentin Mezhevich, member of Federation Council

– Shortage of qualified personnel is key obstacle to the development of the nuclear power industry

This problem is looming large in all key sectors of the Russian economy, the member of the Federal Council Valentin Mezhevich said after the Oct 9 meeting of the Legislators Council. The key topic was training of personnel for the Russian economy. The problem was so important that even President Putin was there. He urged the MPs to carry out active legislative work for training and retraining personnel for the needs of the growing Russian economy.

“The urge of the President to develop the personnel training system in the region is a way to bring young specialists to Eastern Siberia and Far East and to stop emigration from that region. People need to know that they and their children have future there,” Mezhevich said.

“Today construction, energy sector and nuclear industry strongly need personnel. We still have experienced workers but the average age of welders, fitters, engineers is already quite high. Those people are the core of our industry and the guarantee of its safety but many of them will soon retire. So, we need to reform our legislation so as to encourage young people to become welders, fitters and engineers. We do need such specialists,” Mezhevich said.