OREANDA-NEWS. October 24, 2014. President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko gave an instruction to work out a system of measures to eradicate freeloading attitudes and vagrancy by 1 January 2015 at the session held to discuss employment and migration in the country.

At the beginning of the session the head of state said that it is high time to discuss the current state of the Belarusian labor market, its development prospects taking into account the influence of demographic and migration processes.

At the present stage of the social and economic development Belarus strives to accomplish the same goals that the majority of neighboring countries try to accomplish, including the European Union. The preservation and multiplication of labor resources top the agenda. It is a matter of wellbeing of the present and future generations and the stability of the state, Alexander Lukashenko underlined.

The President remarked that Belarus has already secured certain results in increasing the birth rate. “But it is our reserve for the future. Now we have to use options to replenish the labor resources that will produce results today,” the head of state noted. However, he emphasized that we should be calmer about the birth rate increase as this process needs to take root and blossom.

Alexander Lukashenko remarked that Belarus is facing a number of problems in employment and migration these days. In particular, the President mentioned the fact that employable Belarusians account for nearly 60% of the total number of residents and the figure has started falling. “Belarusians are getting older and we should bear it in mind. While in 2010 we had 2.7 employable citizens per pensioner, now the indicator is close to two,” the Belarusian leader stated. “It means that the situation on the labor market will get worse. The shortage of workforce will increase. The burden on the welfare system will rise, primarily pensions and healthcare,” he added.

Alexander Lukashenko remarked that workforce is always in demand in Belarus. Blue-collar jobs account for 76% of the total demand for workers. It is primarily true for the production sector, civil engineering industry, and transport. At the same time individual enterprises employ an excessive number of workers, according to the President. “The practice indicates that we have no effective mechanism to redistribute workforce between regions and industries. The influence on the distribution of productive forces is weak. The majority of vacant positions are concentrated in major cities. People leave the countryside to work in cities,” the head of state remarked.

Apart fro that, the President said that many specialists, who are trained at the expense of the state budget, cannot find jobs. “Because the higher education system relies on yesterday’s requirements. It does not train those that the national economy really needs. It is surprising that the higher education system can rely on yesterday’s standards and train specialists to match yesterday’s requirements. It means that the system lacks any kind of orderliness and organization. If the education system has to train specialists to match today’s requirements, the system should get a clear and definite work order. It means there is not one,” the head of state said.

The President remarked that personnel are often trained without taking into account the improvement and modernization of the production sector. Many corporations cannot determine what specialists they will need even in the short term, stressed the head of state. The President said he wanted answers as to why things happen this way and proposals regarding how the negative practice can be changed.

Alexander Lukashenko also mentioned the fact that the number of Belarusian citizens working abroad is increasing. At the same time, people come to Belarus seeking employment opportunities. The number of people coming from Ukraine has been rising recently. “Certainly we will help such people. A lot has been said about it already. We will welcome everyone, who wants to live and work well. There are areas and enterprises in Belarus where workforce is in extremely short supply,” the President noted.