At the same time, the presented international rankings of the best cities and countries for students and expatriates caused heated discussion among the speakers, as they do not include the BRICS countries. “I am always very suspicious of ratings. In this sense, I am closer to the system that exists in the hotel sector, in the hospitality industry: when there is a 5-star, 4-star or 3-star hotel. It is better to classify cities in this way,” said Alexander Kim, rector of the Skolkovo School of Management. In his opinion, a star rating, which would characterize the presence of infrastructure, the availability of opportunities and other parameters, would allow to better characterize a given location. And the director of the Center for China and Globalization, Dr. Huiyao Wang, noted that the BRICS countries today have every opportunity to attract talent from around the world.
“I think that in the BRICS countries, GDP and purchasing power parity are now higher than in the G7. So the potential is great and we can attract more global talent to our cities. If we are looking for growth, the market is behind it. Talents go where they get the most,” he said.
Alexander Kim added that one should go to Russia to take advantage of unique opportunities. “Russia is a country of opportunities because, on the one hand, we have developed infrastructure and institutions that exist in developed countries, and on the other hand, we can create a business with a profitability of 20-30%,” he noted.
And he added: “In business there is the concept of “buying a product”. This is when you do something well, and then many interesting, positive side effects appear. I must say that all educational institutions are of high quality, like good ones. Universities or business schools are, in any case, a magnet for talent. First, people come in search of perspectives, and then they evaluate the quality of life. And in the end, big cities offer many more opportunities in terms of life and self-realization.”
Countries in the partnership can learn a lot from each other’s experiences. For example, China has managed to recycle talent: Beijing itself sends students to study around the world, Wang said.
The issue of attracting and retaining talent is really pressing. Oksana Morsina, managing partner of RosExpert, spoke about a study on the problem of staff shortage. After interviewing business owners and CEOs, analysts found out that companies now need so-called Atlanteans who know how to seize opportunities during periods of turbulence. “In two years, both entrepreneurs and CEOs expect completely different leadership – demiurges – these are specialists who can look beyond the horizon,” Morsina added. “We will try to create more educational formats that involve the exchange of experience and knowledge,” Alexander Kim promised.
“How will a metropolis attract tech entrepreneurs? In modern conditions, when there are a lot of image recognition programs, nothing prevents medium and small businesses from developing their own programs. This is especially true when working in the field of high technology, for example, the development of unmanned vehicles. Simple image recognition methods have already become an integral and inseparable part of modern business processes in the retail sector. If you do not use them, you will go bankrupt in no time. However, the algorithms remain the same – their implementation will create new jobs and improve the lives of employees, in some industries it will displace people. The tram driver will be replaced by the creator of programs for automating gear shifting. “Fast tram lines,” says Said Gafurov, a member of the Central Council, head of the analytical department of the independent trade union “New Labor”, candidate of economic sciences.
However, he adds, experience shows that despite active automation and robotization, the absolute number and share of workers in the population continues to grow steadily. This is especially true for megacities. And the need for highly skilled labor in the BRICS countries will continue to grow for a long time to come.
