Sociologists have found out that skilled migrants are not needed in Russia

We often hear the idea that if we are to attract migrants to the Russian Federation, then let them be “qualified migrants”. The idea is understandable, but the point is that the Russian labor market does not need qualified migrants. This is evidenced by the results of a study by HSE economists Yelena Varshavskaya and Mikhail Denisenko "Mobility of foreign workers in the Russian labor market".

Economist Dmitry Prokofiev publishes the main findings of this study on his channel.

First, the later (since the collapse of the USSR) a migrant came to Russia, the lower his qualifications turned out to be.

The distribution of respondents by year of entry into Russia and level of education shows that the later foreigners arrive in the country, the more people among them are people without professional education. Among those who arrived in Russia at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, every fifth migrant (21.3%) had a higher education. In 2011, there were already only 12% of them.

Among those who entered the Russian Federation in the early 2000s, people with a secondary general education - 39.5%, with a secondary specialized - 31.4%. In 2011, there were already half of people with secondary education (50.4%), with a secondary specialized education - only 24.1%. And the share of people "without education" rose from 7.9% to 13.6%

Secondly , during 2000 -2011. the professional structure of the first jobs of migrants has changed. The share of migrants who started their career in Russia from the position of an unskilled worker has grown significantly - 1.8 times - (from 28.5% among those who arrived more than 10 years ago to 52.7% among those who arrived in 2011).

The share of workers in the service sector and trade (from 34.3% to 18.8%), managers and specialists (from 8 to 3.1%) decreased.

Changes in the sectoral and job structure of the first jobs of migrants indicate a shift in demand for this labor force towards unskilled employment.

Thus, the qualifications and education of managers and specialists - migrants in the Russian Federation “do not work”, the researchers conclude.

Say - this is data from ten years ago, since then much has changed in the Russian Federation?

Perhaps, but the labor market has become even less in need of qualified workers. The study of the same authors "Qualification mobility of migrants in Russia" confirms this - Russian employers "do not need qualified migrants."

And the point here is not in migrants, but in the results of twenty years of transformation of the Russian labor market, which, as it turned out, now also does not really need qualified Russians.

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In addition, attention is drawn to another important aspect - medical.

Sociologist Irina Kuznetsova and political scientist Laysan Mukharyamova from Tatarstan, in their research on the involvement of labor migrants in the system of medical services, note the inaccessibility of medical care for them. Neither doctors, nor the Federal Migration Service, nor researchers have reliable information about the state of health of this group of people. Today, no government service keeps a complete record of the morbidity of foreign workers.

Not all labor migrants undergo medical examination in Russia. Illegals do not undergo any checks in medical organizations. The second significant group of unexplored labor migrants are citizens who have arrived in Russia for a period of up to 90 days, as well as who receive a patent to work for individuals.

If a migrant falls ill, in most cases he resorts to self-medication (48%), or does nothing at all (12%). The share of migrants who visit a doctor is about 40%.

Among women, there are 7% more of those who turn to a doctor in case of illness (44.9% and 37.8%, respectively), and 10% fewer do not undertake anything (5.1% and 15%).

It is noteworthy that not only migrants without work permits are vulnerable, but also those who have the necessary documents. The high cost of VHI policies, the inaccessibility of compulsory medical insurance policies, the lack of motivation among employers to protect the health of labor migrants and the inability to choose a medical institution for medical examination are factors that deprive foreign workers of the right to medical care.

In trading companies, 31.2% of foreign workers have a medical policy, which is the highest "industry" indicator. In transport companies, the medical policy has 30% of labor migrants, in public catering enterprises - 27.3%.

In construction, where working conditions are more difficult and harmful, only 23.2% of migrants have medical policies, the authors conclude. (explains something in the mechanisms of making a profit by Russian developers and builders)

The study showed that only 26.9% of newcomers have a medical policy, 73.1% of respondents do not have it.

The strategy of behavior during illness directly depends on the availability of insurance. 90% of the insured seek medical help at the city polyclinic.

Migrants who do not have a policy (such 73% of the total) "in case of illness", in almost equal proportions, turn to "a doctor they know", to a "paid clinic" and to "paid departments of state medical organizations"

It would seem that the fact that labor migrants mainly use paid medical services should put them in the status of a client, the researchers write.

In fact, this is not always the case. On the contrary, migrants often find themselves in the role of an “involuntary client” forced to seek professional help, the authors of the article conclude.

That is, much more people earn money “on the illegal status of a migrant” than we think.