The meeting covered the following:

• The implementation of measures to train and strengthen the administrative, scientific, engineering and working staff in the military-industrial complex;
• The implementation of the decisions made by the Military-Industrial Commission on the support and development of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation's automated command and control system;
• Proposals for the appointment of chief designers to the most important areas of developing new kinds of weapons, weapons systems, and military technology.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade presented a report on the first issue, the discussion of which involved the heads of the Ministry of Education and Science, and several enterprises from the military-industrial complex.

One of the most acute problems faced by the military-industrial complex is the lack of engineers, specialists and workers. Currently the military-industrial complex is made up of about 1,400 companies and organisations, employing about one and a half million people. In spite of the annual increase in state defence orders, it has not been possible to fully halt the decline in the number of people employed in the sector.

The overwhelming majority of defence industries involve high-tech production. Here a higher level of qualification is required not just for engineers, but also for the labour force, who frequently need specialised knowledge and experience.
Today's specialists working in the military-industrial complex have to be well trained in design and technology, have a sound command of IT, engineering issues, quality control, the economics and organisation of production, and the management of organisational and technical systems.

However, there are substantial problems with the staff preparation provided by engineering universities and secondary vocational technical schools, related to the loss of a significant proportion of professional academic and teaching staff and the practical standards of training defence industry staff. A decline in competition among those applying to study these professions has also been noted.

In order to improve the situation and to resolve the problems that have accumulated, a Government plan is being implemented to train researchers, specialists, and the workforce for organisations that form part of the military- industrial complex throughout 2007-2010. The Federal Targeted Programme, Scientific and Scientific-Educational Staff for Russian Innovation, for 2009-2013 includes training for those employed in the military-industrial complex. State support measures for those working in the military-industrial complex have been established.

The meeting's participants devoted particular attention to discussing draft legal and regulatory acts being developed covering the training, retention and strengthening of the military-industrial complex's personnel, including those relating to government support for young workers, the establishment of special (defence) state grants for students in state higher vocational education and other institutions.

The Military-Industrial Commission approved the draft strategy for creating a system of ongoing multi-level learning within the military-industrial complex by 2015 and instructed the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in conjunction with the relevant federal government agencies to:

• complete the Strategy taking consideration of discussions held and approve it in accordance with the established procedure;
• develop a draft plan of measures to implement the Strategy paying particular attention to the questions of government support in providing accommodation for young scientists, specialists and the highly qualified workforce who are involved in developing modern weapons systems and military and specialist technology, and improvement of the legal and regulatory basis to retain the personnel of these organisations.

Approval was also given to a plan developed by the United Aircraft Corporation, the relevant federal government agencies, the administrations of the Irkutsk and Nizhny Novgorod Regions, and the Republic of Tatarstan, to provide training for specialists with higher, secondary and basic professional education to work in the aircraft industry.
The meeting's participants comprehensively discussed the Defence Ministry's report on the implementation of the decisions taken previously on the support for and development of the Russian Armed Forces' automated command and control systems, and a time-line for progress was established.

On the third question, the Military-Industrial Commission accepted the candidates proposed by the Federal Space Agency for chief designers in the most important areas of creating weapons, weapons systems and defence technology.