St. Petersburg, 7th June 2019 – ROSATOM Director General Alexey Likhachev has issued an invitation to world leaders from politics, business and education to join a debate to urgently implement human-centred solutions that can help solve the widening global skills gap and worsening talent shortage. Around 6% of the world’s GDP has been lost due to these issues according to latest research unveiled at a panel discussion attended by Mr Likhachev.
“Free trade has been good for the world economy but the rapid pace of globalisation and the digital revolution have left many behind. Now is the time to act, so nobody will be left behind,” said Mr Likhachev, the head of one of the world’s biggest nuclear energy technology providers, who was speaking at a roundtable event at SPIEF ’19 (St. Petersburg International Economic Forum).
“Not a single company, not a single state, not even the largest one in the world can change the labour market culture on its own. To avoid wasting time, we need the Kazan WorldSkills Conference in August to agree on a roadmap to enact a set of human-centred principles to solve this pressing skills gap issue. We have already found the right set of principles, thanks to a joint study commissioned by our new ‘Mission: Talent’ initiative supported by our partners BCG and WorldSkills Russia. Now we need to build a census among the top experts and leaders from the industrialised world how to bring these human-centred solutions to life.”
The five human-centred principles which were presented during the panel event attended by several high-ranking figures from government and industry are as follows:
● Skills of the future (everyone should be equipped with future proof basic skills – including cognitive, social, cultural and digital)
● Self-sustainability (everyone has the right to follow a unique and individual career path during their entire professional development)
● Skills liquidity (information on job vacancies should be easily accessible around the world; employees hired only on skills and experience, regardless of education, gender, race, social status or physical health)
● Labor market transparency (labour mobility, flexible and remote ‘virtual’ employment should be available to all, regardless of current place of residence)
● Diversity of values (the workplace and working conditions should support the professional and personal development of each employee, regardless of their values and beliefs)
During the discussion, the panelists had the opportunity to reflect on these potential solutions and also discuss some of the other findings of the study. Senior Partner, Managing Director, Chairman in Russia, BCG Vladislav Boutenko said: “The “Mission: Talent” initiative, which offers to adopt an approach to talent focused on the individual, is a big step in the right direction. In the course of the research that we are conducting for this project, it has been possible to establish that more than a billion people are currently suffering from a qualifications mismatch – that is, they are either under or over qualified for the work they do. We can, therefore, no longer delay in finding a solution to the ‘skills gap’. I am confident that the problem will be solved in the mid-term if the education system and the labour market adopt the new human-centred concept, spearheaded by the initiative.”
The President of WorldSkills International, Simon Bartley, said he was very much looking forward to the WorldSkills Conference in Kazan held jointly with the 45th WorldSkills Competition on 22nd to 27th August 2019 being the decisive forum where a plan would be set in motion to make the five human-centred principles a reality: “The WorldSkills conference in Kazan promises to be a game changer in how we tackle the global skills gap and talent shortage. We are delighted to be welcoming a truly impressive line-up of leaders from government and big business to Kazan who I’m sure will take up the challenge set today.”
Notes to the Editor:
ROSATOM is the only company in the world to offer integrated clean energy solutions across the nuclear supply chain and beyond, including design, construction and operation of nuclear power stations, uranium mining, conversion and enrichment, supply of nuclear fuel, decommissioning, spent fuel storage and transportation and safe nuclear waste disposal. ROSATOM was recently named best employer of 2018 in Russia in a national ranking by HeadHunter – a top HR management platform and resource centre. The company achieve the highest votes by employees, candidates and experts out of over 1,000 of the largest Russian companies. The company has been among the top-rated employers in the ranking for several years, taking 3rd and 2nd place in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Rosatom is National Strategic Partner of WorldSkills Kazan 2019.
WorldSkills Russia is an official representative of the international WorldSkills movement which covers all regions of the country. WorldSkills Russia upholds international standards in the attestation of practical exams held at colleges and graduate training schools. It also seeks to develop an expert community and implement best international and local teaching practices through further skills enhancements for job coaches and teaching specialists. Find out more under www.worldskills.ru
BCG is a global management consulting firm and the world’s leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their enterprises. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organisation. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organisations and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with offices in more than 90 cities in 50 countries.
