Problems of reproduction of scientific personnel as viewed by heads of institutions

The article present the results of a study of the human resources potential of Russian scientific organizations carried out by the Institute of Socio-Economic Studies of Population RAS in 2015-2016. The use of the sociological method of qualitative interview (expert survey) made it possible to identify the problems of personnel reproduction in Russian scientific institutions. There are considered the problem zones in the age structure of employees and the possibilities of forming a personnel reserve. The authors examined the opinions of heads of scientific institutions on the priorities of professional competencies and the existing age limits for directors, the necessity of personnel mobility. They made conclusions concerning the level and quality of research in scientific institutions and higher educational establishments, as well as the quality of training young specialists and the incentives for attracting young scholars to academic science for preserving the continuity of scientific schools. Despite the fact that most Russian scientific institutions already have internal personnel reserves for not only top managerial positions, but partly for middle managers, the very principle of personnel reserve formation was emphasized here. This process cannot be formalized, it must be a qualitative training of specialists for their career advancement. Training of personnel reserve includes: continuous professional development in the field of both scientific and managerial competences, transfer of experience from the older generation to the younger, systematic analysis of the research results of scholars, mentoring, regular participation of the personnel reserve candidates in scientific events and discussions concerning the institution activities.