MOSCOW, February 5 (RAPSI) – Public officials will need to meet new education, experience and professional qualification requirements to retain their jobs from January 1, 2017, Izvestia newspaper reported on Thursday.

According to the Ministry and Labor and Social Protection, the ministry would hold an unplanned certification of public officials by December 31, 2017. The basic requirements concern education, experience, professional qualification, personal qualities.

“Considering basic requirements, applicants for the posts of managers, assistants and professionals will need to have a higher education in their field,” the newspaper writes.

Officials will be also checked for knowledge of the constitution, the anti-corruption legislation, the Russian language and IT skills.

The government has previously announced that at least 800 professional standards should be drafted and adopted by 2015, including 400 standards in 2014.

Kommersant newspaper has reported that some qualification requirements will be also obligatory from January 1, 2016 for government extra-budgetary funds, federal and municipal organizations, over 50 percent of which have been federally or municipally owned, and that these requirements would become obligatory for all public organizations from January 1, 2020.