The defense industry of the Kirov region needed 700 fewer employees.

      In the Kirov region, interim results of the work on staffing defense industry enterprises have been summarized. On March 19, the chief federal inspector for the region, Grigory Zhitenyev, held a meeting attended by top government officials, ministers of education and industry, as well as leaders of city-forming factories.

      The statistics provided a reason for optimism: the shortage of personnel at 35 defense enterprises in the region has noticeably decreased in recent months. If in mid-2025 there was a need for 2,500 specialists, now the demand is estimated at just over 1,800 people.

      "We are keeping this issue under the control of the plenipotentiary representative in the Volga Federal District. There is a trend towards a decrease in demand, and this is a good signal," noted Grigory Zhitenyev, opening the meeting.

      However, the general directors of leading factories did not allow the meeting participants to relax. Alexander Ivanov ("Avitek") and Alexander Shigapov ("Mayak") reported that despite the overall improvement in the situation, these two giants will need more than a thousand new employees in the near future.

      The authorities are pinning their main hopes on systematic work on personnel training and federal subsidies. As reported by the head of the labor and employment department, Olga Ryseva, last year, thanks to the national project "Personnel," the number of trained defense industry workers was doubled to 1,000 people. In 2026, funding has been maintained: 17.9 million rubles have been allocated from the federal budget for these purposes, which will allow training about another thousand specialists.

      At the same time, the vocational education system is preparing a reserve. Four Kirov technical schools (Vyatka Electromechanical, Kirov Aviation, Vyatka Automotive Industry College, and Vyatskopolyansky Mechanical) are currently "forging" personnel for machine engineering — nearly 2,300 students are being trained here. The Center for Advanced Vocational Training has established cooperation with 36 enterprises in the region: 270 students are already undergoing internships, and 85 have been employed.

      Despite the positive dynamics in reducing the overall shortage, the meeting revealed an acute problem. Enterprise leaders complained about high staff turnover. Meeting participants decided not to leave this issue unattended — they instructed a detailed analysis of the reasons why employees leave defense factories. Following the discussion, a protocol was formed with a set of recommendations aimed not only at attracting but also at retaining specialists in place.