St Petersburg University sociologists: Every second citizen of St Petersburg feels the need to acquire new knowledge for their profession
The 6th St Petersburg International Labour Forum opens today, on 17 March. On the eve of it, the staff of the Centre for Sociological and Internet Research of St Petersburg University conducted a telephone survey of residents of St Petersburg. It had been designed to identify the main challenges of the labour market that concern the population. The most relevant topics were concerns about: the level of their income in the face of rising prices; the employment of the younger generation; and the need to acquire new knowledge in the profession.
The telephone survey was conducted between 21 February and 15 March. There were 800 employable residents of St Petersburg who took part in the survey. The survey was representative by gender and age.
The sociologists have applied a non-standard approach to the telephone survey methodology. It included a large number of open questions. They made it possible to: identify the main experiences of residents; and understand what problems the population sees and which of them residents would like to propose to discuss together with representatives of the state, business and science.
The most disturbing issue was the concern of citizens about the level of their own income in the face of rising prices and against the background of general worries about possible unemployment. Every fifth citizen of St Petersburg offers this topic for discussion.
The second most popular topic is employment and adaptation of the younger generation to the modern requirements of the labour market. The surveyed residents of the city pay attention to the difficulties of employment after graduation from educational institutions, the lack of relevant skills for work, and the low interest of young people themselves in finding a job.
The third place is taken by the problem of the discrepancy between the qualifications of employees and the demands of the labour market, and the high demand of the population for obtaining new knowledge. According to the results of the study, every second surveyed St Petersburg citizen feels the need to acquire new knowledge in their professions in order to fulfil the tasks they face.
The fourth topic was the organisation and regulation of distance work and learning. According to the researchers, this topic is a consequence of the restrictive measures of the pandemic, when a large proportion of the population switched to remote work.
The study shows that every third citizen of St Petersburg has experienced the transition to remote work. In many organisations, this transition was a forced and chaotic measure, while the organisation of working time in this format on a permanent basis requires system solutions.
Maiia Rusakova, Director of the Centre for Sociological and Internet Research
The fifth topic was the problems of informing the population about opportunities in the labour market. Almost every fifth respondent (16.0%) is currently looking for a job. Half of them feel the need to get information about: the most-in-demand professions; the main trends in the labour market; and opportunities for temporary work.
The issues that are raised by the population, in most cases coincide with the topics that will be discussed at St. Petersburg International Labor Forum. Our task is to convey the results and decisions made at the forum to the entire population and to certain categories of employees in the industry in order to build further joint work.
Maya Rusakova, head of the Center for Sociological and Internet Research
The 6th St Petersburg International Labour Forum was be held from 16 to 18 March in a mixed format. The in-person part of the Labour Forum was 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.