In Russia, nearly 3.8 million high school students enrolled in community colleges following Putin's call to train workers
In Russia, the number of high school graduates who enroll in colleges and technical schools after ninth grade continues to grow. This year, nearly 3.8 million applicants submitted applications to secondary vocational education institutions, which is 13.5% more than in 2025. This increase in applicants comes amid statements by Russian authorities about an acute shortage of workers at industrial enterprises.
According to the Russian Ministry of Education, more than 1.3 million applicants chose programs under the federal “Professionality” project, which are designed to train specialists for the industrial sector. Compared to last year, the number of such students has increased by 350,000. The head of the ministry, Sergey Kravtsov, stated that there were approximately 3.2 applicants per state-funded spot.
Previously, Russian parents complained about difficulties in transferring their children to 10th grade. According to them, in some schools, mainly students with high grades are admitted to high school, while the rest are offered the option to continue their education at colleges or technical schools. At the same time, some teenagers are ineligible for state-funded spots due to low average grades on their high school diplomas, and tuition for private schools costs 150,000–200,000 rubles per year.
In 2025, the Russian Ministry of Education reported a record-high percentage of ninth-graders—63%—who chose vocational education over high school. Five years ago, this figure stood at about 43%. Back in 2024, Vladimir Putin instructed the government to train about one million skilled workers by 2028 to address the labor shortage in industry.
This is reported by Russian propaganda media.
As a reminder, Russia will increase military training for schoolchildren in the occupied territories by 2.5 times.
Putin replaced Russian commanders in Ukraine after plans to seize the Donbas fell through.
As a reminder, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law imposing strict restrictions on citizens abroad who have been convicted in absentia under political articles of the Russian Criminal or Administrative Codes, specifically for “discrediting” the army, calling for sanctions, or participating in “undesirable organizations.”
