Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, a strategic session entitled “Training Personnel in the Sphere of Foreign Economic Activity (FEA) in Order to Ensure National Development Goals” was held at the All-Russian Foreign Trade Academy. The Ministry of Economic Development presented a large-scale program for training specialists in the sphere of foreign economic activity until 2030.
“The decree of the President of the country sets strategic guidelines for economic development, and one of the national goals is to increase non-resource and energy exports to $250 billion by 2030. This is approximately twice as much as by the end of 2024. The key factor is the integration of our economy into the global economy. In recent years, there have been significant changes in the structure and geography of foreign economic activity. Russia has actively reoriented trade from Europe and the United States to the markets of friendly countries: China, India, Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. All this allows us to strengthen economic integration,” said Alexander Novak, opening the session.
In connection with the reorientation to the markets of support countries, the creation of new supply chains for critical goods, the formation of international payment instruments and the activation of integration processes, businesses need specialists with the relevant competencies. Sanctions have changed the rules of the game. The market needs specialists who know how to build alternative logistics chains in the context of geopolitical changes, know how to work with crypto payments, understand sanctions risks, know the languages and specifics of the markets of friendly countries.
In order to achieve the target indicators and implement the President’s instructions, the Ministry of Economic Development has developed a program for training personnel for foreign economic activity. “What we are implementing today is a higher education policy applied to a specific area. The number of exporters has increased many times over, including SMEs. This is what we wanted, what we fought for, and what we need to value, because without personnel we will lose this achievement. Today, foreign economic activity is not just a part of business, but a question of economic sustainability,” emphasized the Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov.
The head of the Ministry of Education and Science, Valery Falkov, noted that within the framework of the program for training personnel for the sphere of foreign economic activity until 2030, a list of training areas and specialties has been agreed upon.
“It is important that this approach is in line with the interests of the main competence center – the All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade, while it does not limit the opportunities of other educational institutions in developing specialized educational programs,” said Valery Falkov.
He separately thanked Maxim Reshetnikov for the systematic, comprehensive approach to joint work on training personnel for foreign economic activity.
The program provides for systemic measures to overcome the personnel shortage and eliminate the gap between the needs of business and the capabilities of the educational system. It is aimed at solving the key challenges faced by Russian exporters, including the need to form new logistics chains, develop alternative financial instruments and deeply understand the markets of partner countries.
“Large and SME exporters have different requirements for the competencies of specialists in the field of foreign economic activity. Thus, large companies conducting multi-billion dollar business with regular shipments, dozens and hundreds of trade operations, as a rule, need narrow experts with deep knowledge in the subject areas of conducting and developing export activities: marketing, sales, compliance, logistics or payments. SMEs are limited in their ability to maintain a staff specifically for the development of foreign economic activity. As a result, they value generalists who simultaneously perform many functions, and also have a “long notebook” with contacts for using effective solutions in logistics, payments, marketing and others,” emphasized Veronika Nikishina, General Director of the Russian Export Center. In her opinion, special training programs should take into account the needs of both large businesses and SMEs. Moreover, it is important that they become the property of specialized universities in all regions.
The program provides for a large-scale modernization of the educational process. In the coming years, it is planned to develop 180 educational and methodological complexes and online courses in relevant areas of foreign economic activity, professional retraining of 3 thousand university teachers, holding 20 international events to exchange experience with the participation of universities from the BRICS, EAEU and SCO countries, updating federal educational standards taking into account new requirements for specialists.
The work will be coordinated by a methodological center created for these purposes at the All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade, which will ensure interaction between educational institutions, business and regional authorities. “The center is being formed as a platform for cooperation between leading universities, business representatives and government bodies. Its work is built in three areas: events for schoolchildren (Olympiads, career guidance, interaction with parents), the introduction of educational modules in universities, attracting businesses to the training of students and teachers, advanced training and retraining of current specialists in foreign economic activity,” noted Victoria Idrisova, Rector of the Russian Academy of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economic Development.
According to her, as part of the pilot launch during the 2024/2025 academic year, VAVT prepared 10 educational modules and implemented advanced training programs for more than 70 of its teachers on the most pressing issues on the foreign economic activity agenda.
During the discussion of the program for training specialists in the field of foreign economic activity, the participants identified a number of key issues that require detailed development. One of them is determining the format of personnel training: will it be a separate specialty or a set of competencies integrated into existing professions. “We are currently working on the foundation that will ensure the sustainability of the economy. The value of the program is not in the speed of delivery, but in finding answers to all questions, because training personnel for foreign economic activity is a strategic task for the country,” emphasized Maxim Reshetnikov.
After revision, the program will be sent to the Government for approval. It is expected that its implementation will allow up to 25 thousand specialists to graduate annually, possessing relevant skills for work in the conditions of new economic realities. This will be a significant step in strengthening Russia’s human resources potential in the sphere of international cooperation and trade.
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