Staffing priorities in the military-industrial complex

Topics related to the work of the MIC have often been the focus of Russian scientists. In general, the country’s pre-transitional and transition periods from 1992 to 1996 have been examined, but the results of the transition have been analyzed much less. Scientific works on the MIC are generally concerned with the past - with history. However, features of the impact of the personnel component on the current state of the MIC are not studied enough in scientific literature. When studying the identified problem, the principle of a systemic approach was applied, as well as methods of economic research into scientific abstraction and quantitative methods, using actual material. The following works of B. Vinogradov have all been devoted to the problem of personnel in the defense industry: “Some Aspects of Training Personnel for the Defense Industry” (2007), “Ways to Develop the Personnel Potential of the Defense Industry” (2007), and “Preparing Personnel for the Military-Industrial Complex” (2009). Others have also covered the problem in works such as: “Solving the Structural and Personnel Problems of the MIC” (2009) by A.S. Boreyshe, “The Challenges of Preparing Specialists for the Defense Industry, as Discussed in ‘Voenmekh’” (2011) by S. Ivanova, “The Axiom ‘The Staff Decide Everything’ Has Been Forgotten” (2011) by A. Aleksandrov, “Personnel for the MIC: Issues and Opinions” (2010) by A. Lukianova, “Scientific Conferences as a Preparation System for the Enterprises of the Military-Industrial Complex” (2013) by K. Katyk, as well as other works. The successful operation of defense industry enterprises and solutions to the problem of personnel shortage in the defense industry are extremely important, as the country's security is directly dependent on it. This topic is in the author’s area of scientific interest and is relevant to him as a practicing head of a defense enterprise with many years of experience. Therefore, in a number of earlier research papers we favored unexplored topics in the defense industry. These topics included: “The Economics of Defense Industry Enterprises, Problems and Solutions”, “20 Years of Defense Industry Enterprises in the Market Economy”, “The Development of the Russian Defense Industry in the Conditions of Economic Modernization”, “Issues of Creating Market Relationships in the Russian Defense Industry”, “Prospects for Developing the Russian Military-Industrial Complex”, “The Personnel Situation in the Military-Industrial Complex: 1990s, 2000s and Today”, “The System of Personnel Training in the Military-Industrial Complex (MIC)”, as well as this paper. In May 2013, the State Duma discussed the issue of preparing specialists for the defense industry and based on the results of discussion, it was recommended that the government speed up the preparation and approval of the program entitled “The Training and Retraining of Qualified Personnel for Organizations of the Defense Industry Complex in 2014-2020”, which once again underlines the relevance of the issue in question. The problem of personnel in the defense industry in the post-transitional period appeared in scientific literature before 2007 and 8-10 years later, the Russian State Duma began discussing this problem and making recommendations to the government. However, the situation of experts in the defense industry is still very difficult, if not catastrophic: “...the average age of all workers in strategic sectors of industry is 55-57 years. Of these workers, more than 30% are older than 60. There is about a 17% deficit in mechanical engineers in the industry, a 22% deficit in design engineers, and a 40% deficit in workers of other professions”. These facts were noted by authors mentioned above, but the issues are not resolved and the situation is not improving. The purpose of this paper is to reach conformity in specialized training for defense industry personnel by using professional educational institutions to meet labor market requirements. The objective of this research is to develop and make recommendations to improve the situation of human resource shortages in the defense industry. To accomplish this, the prestige of defense enterprises first needs to be restored. High school students need to be motivated to choose a profession related to the defense industry. Schools should also take into account the individual abilities of pupils, move more actively towards specialized education, and work more closely with universities that support their educational profiles. Graduates should have interesting and guaranteed work, social security, and specified benefits. Only a complex solution to problems related to increasing recruitment for the defense industry can improve the current situation. As this problem has been building for more than 10 years without any major changes, the author considers it necessary to engage more deeply in this subject with the hope that his labor will bring benefits to the rational organization of defense industry functioning, and hence the country's security.

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