Mikhail Mishustin met with vocational education teachers at the National Centre RUSSIA

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On 2 October, as part of Vocational Education Day, the National Centre RUSSIA was visited by the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Mishustin. The Prime Minister toured the exposition "85 Years of Vocational Education: Strength in Mastery" and also met with workers — winners and prize-winners of the contest "Master of the Year".

The Prime Minister began his tour of the exposition with the section "Origins and Development". It is dedicated to the history of vocational education — from Peter the Great to the late 1980s. The exposition includes a stand with famous people who graduated from secondary specialised educational institutions. They include Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, aircraft designer Andrei Tupolev, academician Sergei Korolev, People’s Artist of the USSR Vyacheslav Tikhonov, and many others. 

The formation of labour reserves became a strategically important step on the eve of and during the Great Patriotic War. In the post-war years, vocational schools developed rapidly, introducing new pedagogical and industrial training methods.

"The vocational education system trains specialists without whom the development of any sector of the economy or industry would be impossible. Just now at the exposition we saw what a difficult path the vocational education system has taken over 85 years. I already said today, greeting the students at the 'Master of the Year' contest, that there can be no so-called 'secondary' education systems. This is, in my opinion, a rudiment of the past, of the 1990s. Today, in fact, part of the exposition was devoted to that period," said the Prime Minister during his meeting with the participants of the Master of the Year contest. 

Mikhail Mishustin stressed that college graduates receive an excellent education that is essential for the country. According to him, it allows young people to develop, to create Russia’s shield — industrial and economic — and to help achieve the national development goals.

"Today, our country has more than 3,200 colleges with about 4 million students. There, one can study for any of 500 specialities in all key sectors of the economy. Today, incidentally, the stand displayed professions that in the Soviet Union were offered within the vocational education system. These were completely different professions across various industries of the economy. Today one can also obtain a wide range of professions — from modern specialities in information technology, software development, and nuclear energy to medicine and education," the Prime Minister noted. 

In addition, the head of Government pointed out that college teachers regularly improve their skills, undertaking advanced training at leading enterprises in the country and in specially created organisations.

"Teachers give students the most up-to-date knowledge so that, once they enter the workplace, they can quickly become engaged in the process. And it is very important for us to continue this clustering so that those enterprises which are today, so to speak, at the forefront — in production and in the provision of services — can clearly set the requirements for whom they want to see in their workplaces," he added. 

According to Mikhail Mishustin, independent experts highly assess the readiness of college graduates for professional activity. More than 80% find employment in large companies in well-paid positions.

As part of the meeting, workers — winners and prize-winners of the 'Master of the Year' contest — had the opportunity to ask Mikhail Mishustin questions concerning the development of vocational education in Russia. 

In 2025, Russia’s vocational education system marks its 85th anniversary. This date is being celebrated by teachers and students of vocational schools, colleges, vocational lyceums, and technical schools. Festive events dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the vocational education system were held in particular at the National Centre RUSSIA.