‘We’ll have to live with the staff shortage for a long time’: how Tatarstan is coping with the workforce shortage
KAMAZ will continue to import about 3,000 workers from Uzbekistan, and Tatarstan became the leader in salary growth in the Volga Federal District in 2024
“Today we are saying that the labour market is a job seeker's market, which is sought after and for which there is high competition," head of the Ministry of Labour of Tatarstan Elmira Zaripova repeated last year's thesis at the department's reporting board. The severity of the personnel shortage has slightly weakened over the year, but still continues to put pressure on employers in the republic. In the “labour hole” of 50,000 vacancies in the republic, 37,000 remain unfilled, and wages will continue to grow, she said. KAMAZ began to focus on developing young specialists in Chelny, while recruiters from Germany and Great Britain began to dominate the CIS labour market — hiring from there has become more expensive. Read more about the situation in a report of Realnoe Vremya.
Personnel shortage is here to stay
The Tatarstan labour market continues to experience a labour shortage, which shot businesses in the foot back in 2022-2023. Despite the wage race, the attraction of migrants and corporate bonuses, the number of vacancies in the real sector of the economy is still quite high.
As Elmira Zaripova, Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Protection of Tatarstan, reported at the reporting board, there are currently 37,200 vacancies. While a year ago there were 49,000. As a year ago, there are still 11 vacancies per working-age resident. Filling the “labour hole” is not going quickly, since the demand for labour is constantly generated by large-scale industry, defence industry enterprises and logistics. Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation Andrey Pudov added that Tatarstan has become the leader in terms of wage growth rates in the Volga Federal District — it amounted to over 72,000 rubles, or increased by 21%.
“Today we are saying that the labour market is a job seeker’s market, which is sought after and for which there is high competition,” Elmira Zaripova described the trend of last year.
The official unemployment rate remains at a minimum — 0.16%, which is half as much as in the country. Tatarstan is experiencing a more acute deficit than other regions of the Volga Federal District, since many investment projects are concentrated here, and the number of working-age residents is not growing.
The head of the Ministry of Labour predicted that the demand for labour will remain until 2030, after which we can expect an easing of the situation on the labour market. In the meantime, employment centres continue to provide personnel to defence industry enterprises.
“Employment agencies are recruiting personnel for enterprises from priority industries. Thus, over two years, 13.8 thousand people were sent to defence industry enterprises, of which every second was hired,” said Elmira Zaripova.
In total, this year, the defence industry was replenished with another 500 workers.
KAMAZ invests in engineering schools
The situation with personnel in Naberezhnye Chelny remains tense. It is aggravated by the fact that the number of working-age workers is decreasing, and there is no influx of young people.
“Investments, product expansion, and personnel outflow have created a personnel shortage. All industrial enterprises in the region feel it acutely,” said Deputy Director General for HR Management, Organizational Development and Corporate Management of KAMAZ Zhanna Khaliullina at the board meeting.
She agreed that the difficulties in the labour market are for a long time: “We will have to live with this for a long time, which means we need to be able to respond to these challenges.”
How is KAMAZ going to combat the personnel shortage? If earlier the company considered labour migrants as a source of additional labour, now the bet in the long term is on training young people in Naberezhnye Chelny. As Zhanna Khaliullina reported, KAMAZ is participating in two federal projects — Professionalism and Advanced Engineering Schools, which attract federal funding. Three colleges won grants, the engineering school with KFU became the fifth in the country in terms of training level.
“KAMAZ's total costs for training engineering schools amounted to more than a billion rubles, which went to educational infrastructure,” she said.
In addition, the enterprise is participating in the federal project Mobility 2.0 and in there is potential in resettling compatriots living abroad.
And it brings workers from Uzbekistan
However, it cannot do without attracting migrants. KAMAZ will continue to bring up to 3,000 workers from Uzbekistan annually, she later explained in a conversation with Realnoe Vremya.
“Working with foreign workers is an urgent measure. It is aimed at quickly closing the current need, but we are trying more for the long term. Therefore, we support advanced engineering schools,” she said.
After tightening rules for the entry and stay of foreigners in Russia, the company changed its tactics for attracting workers. According to Zhanna Khaliullina, the lorry plant, together with recruiting agencies in Uzbekistan, is training workers at their place of residence, after which it issues documents for entry into Russia.
“This year, we plan that at least half of the arriving employees will undergo training in their home country. Next year — up to 100%,” she said.
At the same time, such a policy also entails a high turnover. “Foreign workers work under a patent, so they go home once a year. Upon returning, they must again go through the legalization procedure, and then confirm their qualifications. Hence the 100% turnover,” the deputydirector general shared.
However, employers who have tried this technique said that recruiters from Germany and Great Britain now dominate the CIS labour market. “They bring people to work as nurses, cleaners. Such work does not require qualifications, and they offer more money than we do. Therefore, hiring from there has become more expensive,” they say.
How to increase the birth rate
Another pain is the decline in the birth rate in the republic. According to Elmira Zaripova, this trend has been observed since 2017. According to the results of January-October 2024, the birth rate decreased by 3.5%. The largest decline occurred in Bavly (by 28%), Saba (by 21%), Nurlat (by 20%), Mamadysh (by 18%) and Drozhzhany (by 18%) districts. The birth rate increased in Tyulyachi (by 23%), Pestretsy (by 12%), Kukmor (by 10%), Cheremshan (by 9%) and Muslyumovo (by 9%) districts, she listed.
But compared to other regions of the Volga Federal District, the picture looks better. “The birth rate in Tatarstan per 1,000 people was 8.8, which is higher than the figure for the Volga Federal District — 7.7, and for Russia — 8.5,” she noted.
Support for families is built on a systemic basis and is primarily aimed at families in need of special assistance from the state: low-income families, large families, families with disabled children, noted Elmira Zaripova. In particular, 32 billion rubles were allocated to support families with children in 2024, of which 17 billion came from the republican budget. Monthly payments were received by 233,700 children, 2,200 newborns from low-income families were provided with the necessary kits, 35,500 children under three years old were provided with baby food, 121,000 families received compensation for part of the payment for kindergarten. Payments for medicines were assigned to 6,200 children under three years old, 1,500 rural women received a payment of 50 to 100,000 rubles at the birth of a child. In addition, 1,400 children underwent rehabilitation in social shelters, and 5,200 children with disabilities received early intervention services.
“Birth rate is still one of the key issues of the state,” Elmira Zaripova noted.
Fireworks of joy for mothers of those involved in the special military operation
2025 has been declared the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland, Elmira Zaripova recalled. According to her, the republic has organised systematic work to support those involved in the special military operation and their families, a clear scheme of interaction between industrial enterprises, businesses, the volunteer movement, local governments, and the Fatherland Defenders Foundation has been built. And although the meeting of the board was attended by Chairman of the State Council of Tatarstan Farid Mukhametshin, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation Andrei Pudov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic Leyla Fazleyeva, Chief Federal Inspector for the Republic of Tatarstan Viktor Demidov, the main guest was a soldier involved in the special military operation Timur Savosin. First he appeared on the screen to congratulate the social workers, and at the end of the hall the doors opened — and he entered in a uniform with medals. The first to rush to him were his mother and father, and the hall applauded the hero.