Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On October 2, in Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin met with winners and runners-up of national professional skills championships, the "Master of the Year" competition, and students and directors of leading clusters of the federal "Professionalism" project. Among those attending the meeting with the Prime Minister was Violetta Molodtsova, a student in the IT department at the Institute of Secondary Vocational Education at St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.
Mikhail Mishustin emphasized that college graduates receive an excellent education, essential for the country. This, he said, enables young people to develop, create a shield for Russia—both industrial and economic—and help achieve national development goals. Independent experts, according to Mikhail Mishustin, highly rate college graduates' professional readiness. Over 80% find employment in high-paying positions at large companies.
During the meeting, employees and students—winners and runners-up of professional competitions—had the opportunity to ask Mikhail Mishustin questions related to the development of secondary vocational education in the country. Below is an excerpt from the conversation between the Russian Prime Minister and Polytechnic University student Violetta Molodtsova.
Violetta Molodtsova: Good afternoon! I am Violetta Sergeevna Molodtsova, a fourth-year student at the Institute of Secondary Vocational Education, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. I took second place this year. in the "Design and manufacture of prostheses and orthoses" competency at the "Professionals" championship.
This skill isn't my core competency, as I'm studying Information Systems and Programming. I gained quite a few of the skills and abilities I needed to place high in the finals through college, but through extracurricular activities. I'm very grateful to the college for this opportunity. It exposed me to a very important and socially beneficial skill that's actively developing in our region, something I hadn't even considered before. Now I'm considering this specialty as a potential career path and am looking for an internship related to prosthetics.
I'm also very grateful for the championship and glad to have the opportunity to test my knowledge and skills at such a large-scale event. It's a powerful test of stress tolerance, the ability to follow a task, and skills in general. Also, thanks to the introduction of a team module at the competition this year, I was able to work as a team. It was an interesting and unusual experience, because usually in college we complete assignments alone.
I would also like to now give the floor to my fellow countryman Taras, who took part in a similar championship.
Mikhail Mishustin: Thank you, guys, Violetta and Taras. I'm listening—you're so well prepared, speaking professionally about your skills and your ideas. Violetta, it's wonderful that you've gotten so excited and found a direction that will lead you to new professional skills. I'll even ask Sergey Sergeyevich (Kravtsov) to help. You mentioned prosthetics; I know of several wonderful projects in the country. We'll definitely keep you informed. And if you allow, we'll give you your contact information so we can contact you. Because there's a lot of significant development going on right now, both in approaches and technologies. I was told about 3D modeling, 3D printers, and a lot more. Overall, it's quite complex, innovative, but very important and significant for the country.
After meeting with the Prime Minister, Violetta Molodtsova shared her emotions: "This was my first event at such a high level. It was certainly nerve-wracking, but incredibly rewarding! We discussed the secondary vocational education system, and I, in particular, spoke about my participation in the "Professionals" competition. Now I have an even better understanding of the prospects our secondary vocational education system offers. And I'm inspired to further develop my profession and perhaps return to the competition one day as a mentor."
The secondary vocational education (SVE) system is the country's largest educational infrastructure, comprising 3,200 vocational educational institutions and 376 higher education institutions implementing SVE programs. In 2025, the system will celebrate its 85th anniversary.
Secondary vocational education plays a strategic role in the country's development, developing human resources for industry, technology, and social infrastructure. The system employs 199,474 teaching staff, including 147,303 teachers and 18,779 vocational training instructors. In the 2025/2026 academic year, 1.2 million students were enrolled in secondary vocational education programs.
Roman Baibikov, Director of the Institute of Secondary Vocational Education at SPbPU, commented on the results of the Moscow meeting: "Violetta's participation in such a meeting is undoubtedly a well-deserved result of her hard work over the past year. I would like to express special gratitude to Violetta's mentors, teacher Daria Vasilyevna Ivanova, and student Daria Bolotnova. This team's coordinated work earned them a silver medal at the "Professionals" championship finals. Every year, the number of competencies in which our students participate in the "Professionals" championship increases; this year there are 64. Violetta's trip to Moscow was a wonderful gift to our entire college staff for Secondary Vocational Education Day. I congratulate my colleagues and students on this holiday and wish everyone professional growth and the achievement of new heights!"
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