Personnel for agricultural enterprises in the context of their transition towards innovative development

The current stage of technological development of the Russian agro-industrial complex is based on the introduction of innovative technologies and sources of raw materials, which ensures its competitiveness and sustainability. However, in practice, the catch-up model of development prevails, and business methods that have already been tested in the world are used to maintain the achieved positions. The main barrier to the innovative transformation of the agro-industrial complex is the lack of the necessary human resources, limited possession by specialists of agricultural enterprises of competencies that allow them to implement the tasks set for the domestic agro-industrial complex. Surveys of heads of agricultural enterprises have made it possible to identify the accumulated shortage of personnel, identify the most in-demand specialists, and assess the consequences of a lack of competence for the successful development of agricultural enterprises. The main reasons for the gap between the qualification requirements of specialists in the field of agricultural business and the quality of graduates are the relatively low prestige of rural professions, the lack of motivation among the most prepared and motivated applicants to enroll in agricultural universities and the outdated concept of education, which was formed more than half a century ago. Solving the problem of staffing the industry requires a transition to a new educational model, the key features of which are presented in the article.