On 28 October, Stanislav Evtyukov, Head of the SPbGASU Department of Transport Systems and Road and Bridge Construction and a member of the Public Council under the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport (Rotransnadzor). delivered a presentation at a regular meeting of the Council. His report was titled "Review of proposals for developing and fostering competencies in transport safety among students at transport-focused universities within the framework of implementing the new generation of Federal State Educational Standards for higher education."
He examined current issues regarding the training of specialists for the transport sector, including a decline in the number of bachelor’s, specialist's, and master’s degree graduates in fields related to transport operations, as well as the imbalance between the size of the transport fleet and the number of trained personnel.
According to the data provided, the total number of graduates in relevant fields has decreased from 28,972 in 2020 to 25,105 in 2024—a decline of more than 13%. Meanwhile, the number of registered vehicles continues to grow, which intensifies the industry's need for qualified personnel, including those specializing in safety.
Stanislav Evtyukov placed particular emphasis on the current Federal State Educational Standards for higher education. These standards establish general universal and broad professional competencies—specifically, UK-8 and OPK-5—while leaving it to educational institutions to define specific professional competencies themselves, based on professional standards and qualification requirements. This approach does not guarantee that the necessary competencies in the field of transport safety will be included in educational programs, and it leads to disparities in the level of preparation among graduates.
The speaker identified additional issues, including a lack of alignment between educational programs and current qualification requirements, as well as the absence of unified criteria and procedures for assessing the development of competencies essential for ensuring transport safety.
SPbGASU already offers educational programs that include the development of relevant professional competencies. Specifically, two such competencies are incorporated into the bachelor’s degree program in the field of study 23.03.01 "Transport Processes Technology," with a specialization in "Road transport and traffic management." Another is included in the master’s degree program in the field of study 23.04.01 "Transport Processes Technology," with a specialization in "Transport Logistics and Intellectual Transport Systems."
Following the report, it has been proposed to incorporate a unified minimum set of professional competencies in the field of transport safety into model core educational programs, while allowing for the specific requirements of different modes of transport to be taken into account. Other measures include increasing the practical focus of training and introducing regular monitoring of competency development, with the involvement of the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport (Rostransnadzor) and transport companies.
Implementing these proposals will help better align educational programs with the needs of the transport sector and ensure a unified approach to the training of specialists, whose professional competencies are critical to the safety of the transport system.
