‘It is necessary to switch on a “healthy” careerist’: Youth Labour Forum opens at St Petersburg University

Opening the Youth Labour Forum, St Petersburg University Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities Marina Lavrikova drew attention to the wide international coverage of the event. The Youth Labour Forum brought together students from St Petersburg, Yaroslavl, Tashkent, Shanghai, Minsk, Tiraspol, Belgrade, Vilnius, and dozens of other cities in different countries. Many participants could visit St Petersburg University in person, while others took part in the sections, discussions, and workshops in a remote format.

‘It is essential to understand how the labour market is changing and where we are today. At the Youth Labour Forum, we will discuss new problems and issues that have become especially relevant in recent years. We hope that the participants of the Youth Labour Forum will share the information received here with the universities and organisations they represent. I am sure that each of you is able to adapt to all the challenges of the modern labour market and build a career,’ said Marina Lavrikova.

I can say with full confidence that St Petersburg University and many other universities are doing everything possible for this.

Marina Lavrikova, Senior Vice-Rector for Academic Activities at St Petersburg University

The main focus of the St Petersburg International Youth Labour Forum 2022 is Development and Career in the New Reality. The speakers of the first event of the forum, i.e. the plenary session ‘Youth Career: Opportunities and Resources for Development’, shared their views on how exactly an ‘early-career candidate for a position’ should change in order to feel confident in the modern labour market.

‘I am against generational theories. The one who can adapt quickly always wins. I am sure that each of the employers here will say that it is impossible to find a specialist who can be put at the desk and he or she will immediately start working perfectly. However, it depends only on this specialist how he or she will reorganise and prove themselves,’ said Igor Murashev, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Public Service and Personnel Policy of the Administration of the Governor of St Petersburg, Head of the Evaluation and Personnel Reserves Department. ‘I have seen many ups and downs in the Governor’s Administration, but they are not the only ones... Not everyone is ready to be leaders, and this is normal. The main thing I would like to encourage you to do is to take a bold step in your job search today. Don’t delay.’

According to Igor Murashov, it is important for an early-career specialist to be sceptical about the myths about professional development that are firmly placed in the public mind: ‘When I graduated from the university, we lived in a myth. At school, we were told: “Your job is to go to school and successfully graduate from it.” After you entered the university, you were told that your job was to study and get a degree. There were beautifully drawn graphs that said: “Look at the demographic situation. Do you understand what the shortage of specialists will be when you graduate? There will be a line of employers behind you!” This has never happened and will not happen. If you hope that your task is only to study, and are not going to do anything else, you will not be in demand!’

Liudmila Koldunova, Head of the Human Capital Development Department of the St Petersburg Committee for Labour and Employment, agreed with this.

In no case should you wait until you graduate from university. You need to start working and do internships at least from the third year of your study at university. If you wait until you graduate from university, and then start thinking about where to get a job, be prepared that you will have much fewer opportunities than those who have long been actively involved in the life of the city and enterprises.

Liudmila Koldunova, Head of the Human Capital Development Department of the Committee on Labour and Employment of St Petersburg

According to Liudmila Koldunova, the city’s employment service is changing rapidly and becoming more and more client-oriented. Applying to employment centres is another effective way to find a job that graduates and students should use. If your field of study, for some reason, in not in demand in the market, the employment service will help you get a new profession for free.

According to Mariia Dorokhina, Director of the Coaching Centre at the Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg University, the role of universities, largely due to constant uncontrolled changes in the world, is changing and becoming wider in scope: ‘The role of a source of information, an important academic minimum that education provides, is retained by universities. Yet an essential part, primarily associated with the practical component, has been added, i.e. students can try themselves in the profession at university. In the context of variability and transformation, universities often involve employers in the educational process within the framework of career centres. The traditional tool for this is career days, business projects based on real cases, and career services that help students decide what is really important for their professional development.’

Mariia Dorokhina recalled that education is a service that cannot be provided, it can only be taken. In a similar way, in her opinion, the situation is with career opportunities: everything depends on what actions you take.

Being active is a very important component of today’s career building. It is what makes a modern student different from the one who existed 20 years ago. In my time, the word ‘careerist’ aroused an image of a man with a glassy look who thought only about advancements in profession and money. Today, students need to switch on a ‘healthy’ careerist who knows what they want and are moving towards their goals.

Mariia Dorokhina, Director of the Coaching Centre at the Graduate School of Management at St Petersburg University

The programme of the 6^th St Petersburg Youth Labour Forum included professional trajectories. Among them are: ‘Lifelong learning and why it only starts after graduation’; ‘Territory of development’; ‘Moving up: how to find yourself and move up the career ladder’; and ‘Life impossible to work: how prioritise remotely’. The participants discussed current trends in the labour market, changes in the approach to training, employers’ requirements for young employees, and also paid attention to the topic of work-life balance and career development.

The St Petersburg International Youth Labour Forum is held as part of the 6th St Petersburg International Labour Forum , which takes place in a mixed format from 16 to 18 March 2022. The in-person part of the Labour Forum will be organised at three venues: the Tauride Palace, St Petersburg University, and the Expoforum Exhibition and Convention Centre. The Forum is organised by: the Government of St Petersburg; St Petersburg University; the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of States Members of the Commonwealth of Independent States with the support of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Russia; and the Federal Service for Labour and Employment.

As part of the Youth Labour Forum, the annual ‘Spring Career Day’ was held. The event was attended by representatives of leading international and Russian companies and government agencies. Among them are: Cinimex, Covance, Decathlon, Deloitte, Ilim Group, KPMG, Microsoft, Nexign, Owl Markets, PWC, Selectel, Gazprom Neft, Geropharm, Publishing House ‘St Petersburg Vedomosti’, the Committee on Public Service and Personnel Policy of the Administration of the Governor of St Petersburg, KROK, Kurchatov Institute, Lenta, RusHydro, Sberbank, STC, St Petersburg Supply Company, Teacher for Russia, and PhosAgro to name but a few. As part of the Spring Career Day, the participant could talk with the representatives of the companies. The programme also included unique workshops in the field of IT, production and management, health and safety.