The global road industry is constantly evolving and undergoing changes. Developed countries update the standards and knowledge of road specialists at least once every 3-5 years. And in Kazakhstan, domestic experts have been talking for several years about the requirement to improve the prestige of road workers and introduce a system of continuous training for road workers. We talked about the prospects of the industry from the point of view of the personnel problem with the head of the Center for the Development of Road Workers’ Competences at KazdorNII Gulzhamal Umarova.

- Gulzhamal Baktiyarovna, what are the personnel problems of the road construction industry in Kazakhstan and what is being done to solve them?

• A rather serious problem is the personnel shortage. It has been noted more than once that the professional road worker is, may be said, on the verge of extinction. The main reasons for this are low salaries in the road industry, the lack of prestige of the profession and certain groups of educational programs in the higher education system. According to our data, the shortage of personnel is at least 10 times greater than the number of students graduating per year. To fill the gap, it is necessary to constantly improve the level of knowledge of those people who are currently working in the industry. Improvement is not only about filling in gaps, but also about “upgrading” specialists with modern, up-to-date information. Therefore, we constantly conduct advanced training courses for road workers, expand thematic areas and, starting this year, conduct on-site events. We are also developing a Digital Bank of Road Industry Professionals, which is nearing completion. This database will help government agencies see the real picture of the road industry workforce, specialists in job searches, and employers in finding the right personnel. We also try to regularly monitor the industry labor market.

- And what are the results of the latest monitoring?

• More than 400 respondents took part in our latest survey. It should be noted that these are not all road workers in Kazakhstan, that is, it would not be entirely correct to draw sharp conclusions based on monitoring. According to its results, in 52% of cases, problems of personnel shortage are solved with the help of professional connections and contacts. The issue of quality wages is practically closed - only 5% of personnel are attracted by good wages. 70% of road workers admit the problem of turnover among mid-level specialists, that is, the fact of a shortage of professionals is no secret. About 10% consider this one of the biggest problems. Of the students, 25% of respondents do not see themselves in their specialty, and 27% are not ready to even consider job offers. The fact of insufficient professionalism of road specialists is also recognized. According to 52% of respondents, the new generation of road workers lacks technical skills, 43% note the passivity of recent graduates, 9% indicate a lack of basic theoretical knowledge. This leads to the following figures: 38% of contractors send their workers for retraining, 47% for advanced training courses. Considering that the number of participants in our courses has almost doubled, we can confidently say here that interest in improving their competencies is growing.

- Why do road workers now want to improve the knowledge of their employees?

• This trend has several reasons. Firstly, the volume of construction and reconstruction of roads is growing, and with it the requirements for the quality of work, so businesses need more highly qualified specialists. Secondly, our institute has become more flexible in providing courses. Previously, there were only 7 topics related to laboratory testing, but now we have expanded the training program almost 4 times. It is important to note that there is no compulsion or obligation to take these courses - this is an initiative of the employees themselves. And the results already speak for themselves: before the start of the construction season this year, 253 people took part in advanced training, while last year there were only 152 participants, and in 2021 only 20 people successfully completed the courses. This is a clear example of how road workers themselves are striving to improve their knowledge and skills in order to provide better road construction and maintenance.

- Which programs of the Competence Development Center are in greatest demand?

• I believe that the list of advanced training courses at KazdorNII includes topics that are relevant today. At the request of contractors, advanced training courses for the site manager and foreman, foreman, and technical maintenance engineer were introduced on quality control of road construction materials and works, road safety, road surface construction, as well as designer and technical supervision. In terms of the number of students, courses on quality control of road construction materials lead. I would like to note that since the construction season begins in the warm season, now is the best time to expand your knowledge. A true professional road builder is the key to not only high-quality, but also safe roads.

We conduct both theoretical and practical classes. Our main goal is to give road workers the necessary skills and knowledge to perform work at a high level. After all, people’s lives depend on the quality of roads.