Presented at the meeting was the OSKA research report of the Qualifications Authority, the aim of which was to examine how the next generation of researchers and engineers can be ensured in entrepreneurship. The report also highlighted the areas in which the need for researchers and engineers will grow most sharply in the coming years and have the most marked impact on labour force productivity in general. These include bio- and health technology, the chemicals industry and electronics. One unpleasant surprise emerging from the report was that the qualifications of a large proportion of private-sector researchers are limited to a Bachelor’s degree and that entrepreneurs will continue to look for employees at that very level in future.
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the background to this trend must be more specifically examined. “The reason may be that companies are faced with a shortage of candidates and that there are simply not enough people with Master’s degrees and doctorates on the labour market,” she posited. “We need to find a way of increasing the number of study places in the areas brought out in the report at the Master’s and doctoral levels, since they produce a much greater competitive advantage.”
The members of the RDC were also given an overview of the implementation of the innovation ladder, a tool developed last year by a working group within the council to help companies assess and develop their innovation capabilities. “We started promoting and testing the innovation ladder last autumn, and the feedback has generally been very positive,” said Prime Minister Kallas. “Employers and ministries can now begin implementing it.”
The next meeting of the RDC is scheduled to take place in August, when the council will be joined by additional members: to date it has had 12 members, but this number is set to be increased to 15 so as to bring to the table competence supporting the implementation of green policy.
The RDC is a long-standing advisory body to the government led by the prime minister which primarily focuses on strategic issues of research and innovation policy.
Photos from today’s meeting: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjAKjyf
More information about the RDC can be found online at https://www.valitsus.ee/valitsuse-eesmargid-ja-tegevused/teadus-ja-arendusnoukogu-tan.
