Good communication skills and being inventive will not guarantee successful career: Youth Labour Forum at SPbU

On behalf of St Petersburg University, Vice-Rector for Methodological Support Marina Lavrikova visited the Forum. “Such events and conferences are an excellent opportunity to have your say and be heard for those who at the core of the University. They are our students who study at the University to excel in their professional and personal development, — said the Vice-Rector. — The Forum is organised by the students themselves. I am more than sure that they will be actively engaged in organizing the forum and developing its agenda in future”.

 Some years ago, the generation gap between the young and the old, if we measure it in years, was about 20 years. Today the generation gap is more about the difference in what technologies we use and how we are changing, says the Chairperson of the Committee for Labour and Employment in St Petersburg Dmitrii Cherneiko. «Today’s economy is becoming more and more people-oriented. In other words, we should perform those tasks where we are more effective than machines. человек должен заниматься тем, в чем он эффективнее машины. What we should be responsible for and what we should focus on are changing. It is by no means a pure and simple philosophy. It is what we are facing in life. It is our young generation who will find a way to respond to this unprecedented challenge: should you succeed, you will find your way in life”, — said Dmitrii Cherneiko.

 The plenary session mainly focuses on the opportunities for labour market and challenges that young people face while they are still studying. Ever-changing technology makes our life easier and more difficult as well. Searching the Internet to find an answer is not enough, says SPbU Associate Professor Maria Evnevich who is also a member of the Board of Director of Maxidom. “If you think that learning is out of fashion, we are wrong. You will not be able to find what you need if you don’t have basic knowledge. How to benefit from artificial intelligence is about how to ask right questions rather than how to find the answer. It means you should study throughout your life, — she said. — It will help you to respond to another challenge that the generation Z are facing: how to work with information and verify it. You should make sure that the information you have is true and accurate and what sources you can trust before you start working with this information”.

As the information technologies are becoming more and more pervasive, we are becoming more and more closed: with advent of technologies in our life, we don’t have to leave our home to work or to play. It directly affects the way how we communicate, said SPbU Associate professor Iurii Guzov. “The real world interaction is not popular among young people. The University should therefore encourage live communication and instill communication skills into students”, — said the expert.

The platform “Lektorii” features a wide range of workshops. Among them is a workshop on You’re your rights that focuses on how well we know our Labour Code. SPbU Vice-Rector for Methodological Support and senior lecture Nikolai Startsev answered the questions about major difficulties in finding jobs. “The law defines the framework that must have content. If we fails to build our relationships with the management, we will endlessly seek to invoke the power of a tribunal in order to enforce a law. it will do no good”, — said the Vice-Rector.

The legal rules and regulations are just like Highway Code: knowing them is not enough, you should practice them.

SPbU Vice-Rector for Methodological Support Marina Lavrikova

The Forum expanded a range of issues to discuss in labour sphere. It held a Career Day when the students could directly meet with the employers, talk with 24 Russian and international leading companies, and apply for traineeship placements.

The Career Day features a wide range of workshops where the employers share their experience in business and explain how to develop leadership qualities and successfully pass the job interviews. Natalia Zubenko who is a Director of HR Department in Gazpromneft Centre told about what competences were in great demand in the labour market.  Some 2 or 3 years ago, the employers sought for good communication skills, inventiveness and an ability to work in a team. Today the situation is different. The focus is on an ability to concentrate, be detail-oriented, be emotionally intelligent, prioritise, and improve yourself. Those who are planning to work with the international corporations should build up cross-cultural and ecological awareness.