MOGILEV, 5 September, (BelTA) – Young people should more actively involved in the innovative economic transformation, Chairman of the Council of the Republic Mikhail Myasnikovich said at a meeting with the professors and students of the Belarusian-Russian University in Mogilev on 1 September, BelTA has learned.

According to Mikhail Myasnikovich, this should be one of the goals of the efforts to improve the higher education system. “Nowadays there are a lot of qualified specialists on the labor market but most of them are not demanded. So we need to revise the volume of staff training and public spending to make sure the skills match the market needs,” chairman of the council of the Republic thinks.

While making the list of new professions the universities should regard not only the short-term perspective but also the long-term one: whether these specialists, their skills and knowledge will be required in three-five or more years. “We need to address longer-term issues while preparing specialists and be not one step but two or three ahead. We should discover talents, support them and work with them systematically,” Mikhail Myasnikovich says.

He also called to improve the status and the prestige of technical and vocational education, to provide more distance learning opportunities to get such education, to implement educational programs through the Internet and to reduce the period of technical and vocational education.

“The system of teaching foreign languages requires big changes. A highly qualified professional needs to speak fluent English. Learning a foreign language should become a rule and a vital necessity. We are building a state open to constructive partnership in different areas. We welcome foreign experience and close cooperation to achieve our goals, including to make sound management decisions”, Mikhail Myasnikovich noted.

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