The Human Potential Quality of Russian Professionals: Analyzing The Data From 2010, 2021

Abstract

In this article we analyze the dynamics of the human potential quality of Russian professionals based on RLMS HSE data from 2010 and 2021. It has been demonstrated that due to the increasing immersion of Russians in the digital environment, the overall quality of human potential has increased. However, for a third of professionals it remains low, and for one in five it is very low. Only a third of professionals are currently characterized by high indicators of the human potential quality. This is partly due to their belonging to generations that have gone through socialization in different eras, so the shift in the age structure of professionals also plays its role – under the influence of the “demographic echo” of the 1990s, the number of people under 30 in their composition decreased while the proportion of 30–39-year-olds increased. This is most typical for large cities, while rural areas are characterized by a sharp increase in the number of professionals in older ages against the decrease in the number of 30–39-year-olds due to their migration to cities. Good quality of human potential increases the chances for professionals over 60 to remain employed, but since 2010 this trend has noticeably weakened. Among the institutional factors that determine the quality of human potential the decisive role is played by factors related to the characteristics of primary socialization in the family and school, as well as the characteristics of local labor markets, including the presence of a “bonus” for professionals with a good quality of human potential for their willingness to change profession. However, in general, the situation that has developed in the country with the professionals working outside their specialty requires serious institutional changes – currently, about two-thirds of them work outside their profession. The mass nature of this phenomenon devalues the importance of specialized education in the eyes of employers, even for those professionals who are obliged to have it: every tenth among doctors, and more than half among engineers do not have a specialized education.