8 October, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA/. Seamstresses, sales assistants, construction workers, and engineers are in steady demand in the Vitebsk labour market, Elena Torgan, Head of the Department of Labour, Employment and Social Protection of the Vitebsk City Executive Committee, told a BELTA correspondent. There are two vacancies for every unemployed person in the regional centre, with 80-85% of them being for blue-collar jobs. The top three most in-demand professions are seamstresses, sales assistants, and construction workers of all specialities. Among vacancies for specialists, engineers, doctors, and foremen hold an undisputed leadership. As Elena Torgan noted, the Vitebsk employment service does not merely state the fact of vacancy availability or absence but conducts systematic career guidance work with young people. Specialists meet with final-year schoolchildren and inform them about the state of the labour market and employment opportunities in various specialities. Furthermore, at the employment centre, schoolchildren can be assisted in choosing a future profession based on their personal characteristics, aptitudes, and interests through special tests. The registered unemployment rate in Vitebsk is 0.6%. There are 1059 unemployed individuals registered with the employment centre. As a rule, these are individuals who have been unemployed for a long time or were dismissed by mutual agreement. Half of the unemployed have only secondary education, 14% have higher education, and the rest have vocational or secondary specialised education. -0-

BELTA