Russia Looks to Prisons in Desperate Search for People With IT Skills

Desperate times call for desperate measures as skilled workers flee the country.

Russia is reviewing what "forced labor" means for prisoners now that the country is facing a serious shortage of people with IT skills.

Waging war on another country and the sanctions that have followed means skilled workers are leaving Russia in droves and local businesses need to find replacements. With vacancies for IT positions numbering the high tens of thousands, Russian prisoners are now being viewed as a new source of potential talent.

As KrebsonSecurity reports, late last month the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service announced it was considering using prisoners for remote IT work at commercial Russian companies. According to Alexander Khabarov, deputy head of Russia’s penitentiary service, the idea was proposed by a number of businessmen in Russia eager to find the staff they needed.

There's thought to be around 95,000 jobs requiring IT skills in Russia that can't be filled. The reason? IT specialists are fleeing the country, with the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC) estimating up to 100,000 are leaving for new overseas positions in destinations including the US, Germany, Georgia, Cyprus, and Canada.

Russia isn't short of prisoners, with the BBC reporting that the country has a prison population of 874,161. How many of those possess IT skills is unknown, but if 1 in 10 do, there's a chance to fill many of the vacant roles and likely some very happy prisoners as a side effect. Businesses will also be happy when you consider Russian prisoners sentenced to forced labor only earn around $281 a month.

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