‘I believe construction specialists should be Russian citizens and not immigrants,’ says Real Estate Managing Director of Mayak Corporation PLC Marina Konkova.

‘We should first of all think of young qualified staff, so it is essential that vocational education systems be restored and improved,’ Ms Konkova said.

‘We are experiencing a lack of skilled workers, and, should a student have a position with us, he or she may soon become a team-leader or foreman, which will let us have young professionals within staff in the course of 2 or 3 years. We are also willing to employ immigrants, but they have to have a residence permit and be college-going, that is, they have to meet the same requirements as everyone else,’ Ms Konkova noted.

This comment followed Minister of Construction and Communal Services Alexander Karlov announcing at yesterday’s press conference that local builders might not be able to do all the construction themselves and therefore need to involve legal immigrants.