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Strategic personnel: universities and schools have increased the recruitment of teachers in natural sciences
The number of vacancies for teachers of physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics in schools and universities has increased significantly in 2025, job search services told Izvestia. Experts say that educational institutions have increased recruitment due to the growing motivation of young people in such areas and the demands of the Russian labor market. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
What is known about the additional set of teachers
In 2025, Russian schools and universities increased the number of vacancies for teachers and teachers of natural sciences and mathematics, job search services calculated at the request of Izvestia. According to the Salary data.<url>", the number of vacancies for teachers of mathematics increased by 22% year—on—year, physics - by 16%, biology - by 11%. The indicator increased by 23% in schools and colleges, and by 7% in universities, according to the service.
According to hh.ru In Russian schools, the number of vacancies for chemistry teachers increased by 49% year—on—year, biology teachers by 23%, and mathematics by 5%. In universities, the number of vacancies for teachers of physics increased by 27%, mathematics — by 17%, chemistry — by 8%, biology — by 3%. In particular, in Moscow and St. Petersburg schools, the number of vacancies for chemistry teachers increased by 54% and 27%, respectively, biology — by 43% and 115%. The universities of Moscow and St. Petersburg have increased vacancies for physics teachers by 52% and 100%, and for mathematics teachers by 38% and 80%.
As ITMO told Izvestia, the university has increased the recruitment of teachers in such specialties due to an increase in the demand of applicants.
— Recent admission campaigns have demonstrated an increased demand for natural science specialties from applicants. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of classes with students, which means an increase in the number of teachers necessary for a full-fledged educational process. The workload at ITMO has increased, and the university's team is also growing. This does not negate the classic reasons that exist in any university — staff rotation: decrees, vacations, pensions," explained Kirill Alexandrov, First Deputy chairman of the ITMO admissions committee.
NSU is increasing the number of teachers among representatives of high-tech companies.
The Ministry of Education and Science confirmed to Izvestia that universities have received an additional request for teaching staff in natural science and engineering fields. According to the representative of the Ministry, the reason for this is changes in sectoral priorities in the higher education system and the entry into priority positions of specialties related to achieving technological leadership in Russia.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Education.
Boris Ilyukhin, a senior researcher at the Center for Economics of Continuing Education at the Presidential Academy (RANEPA), believes that schools and universities are recruiting teachers to reduce the burden on existing teachers.
— The number of teacher vacancies is growing, as the influx of young professionals into schools is not increasing as fast as we would like. From 2016 to 2024, the number of school-age children increased by more than 30%, while the number of teachers remained almost unchanged. Elderly teachers leave, and as a result, the workload for employees reaches about 1.5 percent," Ilyukhin says.
In February, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it was necessary to increase the number of teachers of mathematics and natural sciences, improve the quality of their training, and update programs in mathematics and natural sciences. The ultimate goal is to increase the number of qualified personnel in order to "ensure not just the country's self—sufficiency in the most important sectors, but the superiority of domestic high-tech technologies and products in vital areas."
What kind of people does Russia need
According to the forecast of the Ministry of Labor until 2030, the most in—demand group of specialists for the next five years are skilled workers: mechanics and vehicle repairmen, electricians, locksmiths, builders and finishers. Among specialists with higher education, the need for IT specialists, doctors, engineers, architects and designers will grow the most, Anton Kotyakov, the head of the ministry, said earlier. Moreover, according to him, there are not enough engineers in "various areas of training."
From the Presidential Academy's study "Admission to universities for engineering and natural science training programs, and ICT specialists: regional specifics," it follows that the most scarce profession is an information security specialist (satisfaction with projected demand is 45%). In addition, there are insufficient personnel in the field of weapons systems (58%), nanotechnology and nanomaterials, architecture (60% each), pharmacy (74%), computer science and engineering (80%).
The IT company of the KORUS Consulting Group is particularly in demand for highly qualified specialists in the field of 1C, project managers, the organization noted.
— In the current situation, IT companies are forced to compete not only for more experienced, but also for middle specialists, who are becoming the most in demand, as they are the ones who close the "gap" between mass juniors and rare signors. In general, the situation in the IT market can be described as follows: the number of resumes is growing, but their real value to the employer is decreasing," Daria Tsiruleva, HR Director at CORUS Consulting Group, tells Izvestia.
At the same time, Kirill Timofeev, head of the IT department of the OBIT IT solutions operator, told Izvestia that "today, most young people are going into trending IT," but there are not enough engineers and basic technical specialists.
The IT recruitment company IBS GlobalCareer says that there is still a shortage of qualified engineers and IT specialists in the market, but the situation is ambiguous and depends on the specific specialization and level. There is an acute shortage in the Senior—level segment, information security specialists, Data Science and AI/ML specialists, DevOps/SRE engineers are needed, explains Mikhail Sergeev, head of the recruitment team.
The Russian market also lacks doctors, Mikhail Androchnikov, Deputy chairman of the Trade Union of Healthcare Workers of the Russian Federation, confirmed the information to Izvestia.
Elena Urzhumova, HR Director of the A101 Group of Companies, said that the company does not experience a shortage of engineering specialists. A greater shortage in the organization is observed in the segment of working specialties.
The shortage of technical supervision engineers and chief project engineers is seen by the development group "Aeroplane". According to Alexandra Gorchakova, Director of Human Resources and Sustainable Development, there is a particularly urgent need for operational engineers, electrical and mechanical engineers, and specialists in low-current systems.
How the authorities develop interest in studying subjects
To increase the motivation of schoolchildren and students to study mathematics and natural sciences, the authorities have created an integrated approach.
In a few years, technical and natural science centers of additional education for schoolchildren have been opened in Russia. According to Antonina Kuleshova, head of the Progress Center for the Development of Natural Science, Technology, tourism and local lore, 464 children's technoparks "Kvantorium" have been created within the framework of the national project "Education", 329 IT Cube centers have been deployed, 20,000 Growth Point centers located in rural schools and schools in small towns..
— 371.5 thousand new technical jobs have been opened. And they are not empty: in the first half of the year alone, classes were held on 107.4 thousand programs, and almost 2.5 million children aged 5-18 were enrolled. Children get the opportunity to realize their aspirations in scientific fields, teachers are tools for effective work, regions are points of competence growth," says Kuleshova.
Starting from 2025/2026, Moscow schools will organize city training courses in mathematics, science and technology for the first and sixth grades, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin promised earlier. Starting this academic year, the Spektr Regional Center has been opened in the Moscow region on the basis of the P.L. Kapitsa Phystech Lyceum. Tenth graders from 30 schools solve problems of increased complexity three hours a week and attend intensive courses in experimental physics.
In addition, Russian schoolchildren attend career guidance classes every Thursday. Some of them take place at enterprises, for example, Rosatom, Rostec, Sibur.
As part of the national Youth and Children project, the authorities plan to open a "network of advanced schools" consisting of at least 12 institutions. They will teach according to an individual program. Each child will begin to study in depth the subjects that are interesting to him.
The authorities are also modernizing universities. By 2030, 25 modern campuses should be operational. Today they are open at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Ufa, Kaliningrad and Chelyabinsk. Universities, together with companies, open programs and projects, such as engineering schools. "50 advanced engineering schools are already operating in 23 regions of the country, and they intend to double their number by 2030," the national projects website says.
How are students interested in technical and natural science fields?
The interest of schoolchildren and students in natural science and engineering education is growing. This year, 6 thousand more people took the Unified State Exam in chemistry than in the past, 30 thousand more in specialized mathematics, 8 thousand more in biology, and 13 thousand more in physics, Anzor Muzaev, head of Rosobrnadzor, told Izvestia earlier.
"We see that we have reversed the trend when we went to the humanities. Today we see a trend towards natural science and engineering education," Kravtsov said in July.
The number of applicants for engineering programs at universities has increased by 28% this year compared to last year, a representative of X Holding told Vedomosti.
The University of Science and Technology MISIS received 55,000 applications in the new academic year, which is 27% more than in 2024, university rector Alevtina Chernikova said in a conversation with Izvestia. ITMO told Izvestia that in 2025, 21 thousand applications were submitted to the university, an increase of 15% compared to 2023, and 5% from 2024. In 2025, 12.7 thousand applications were submitted to NSU for natural sciences and engineering, which is 6% more than last year.
— This year we are witnessing an increase in interest in STEMM areas (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine). The top areas in terms of the increase in the number of applications are "Computer Science and Computer Engineering", "Mathematics and Mechanics", "Mathematics and Computer Science", the university said.
In UrFU, the number of applications in natural sciences in 2025 increased by 34% compared to 2024, and more than doubled since 2023. This year, Ural University received 44% more applications in engineering than last year, and 63% more than in 2023.
In 2025, about the same number of applications (24 thousand) were submitted to the Bauman Moscow State Technical University as in the previous year. 3.7 thousand people applied to MIPT, which corresponds to the figures for 2023 and 2024.
How to motivate young people
Experts believe that the recruitment of teachers helps to increase the number of personnel in natural sciences and engineering specialties. However, it is important to systematically solve the personnel problem and introduce business into the system.
The Aeroplane Group of Companies has launched a development school, which trains young specialists. GC "A101" students are invited to a paid internship, out of a stream of 50 interns, as a rule, 15 people remain. OBIT cooperates with universities and colleges, sends experts to conduct classes, and participates in final evaluations.
Mikhail Sergeev believes that the revision of school courses, the transition from theory to practice in school courses, the development and popularization of technical areas in universities, retraining programs for experienced professionals, the creation of understandable internship programs for students and mentoring programs for Junior specialists will help to increase the number of qualified engineers and IT specialists in order to raise staff within the company. rather than poaching them.
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