Artyom Korolev – about the uniqueness of the REN Youth Day

Artem Korolev, Director of the Reliable Shift Charitable Foundation and founder of the International Engineering CASE-IN Championship, visited the Open Studio of the Children's Editorial Staff at the REN-2024. He also told presenter Valeria Luchkina that young professionals crave praise and career growth, and employers are looking for responsible and knowledgeable specialists.

What is the uniqueness of the Russian Energy Week Youth Day this year?

The majority of participants are winners of various youth engineering competitions, championships, and competitions that have passed the qualifying stages. And here is the final stage. In other words, people didn't just come to listen to a session, there are those who have distinguished themselves somewhere. For example, at the CASE-IN championship, the IT championship of the oil and gas industry, and so on. There are 80% of such young people here, and 20% are those who came to one or two specific events.

For example, this year, in honor of Russia's chairmanship in the BRICS, the BRICS Youth Day is being held. Youth delegations from these countries have arrived. They have their own program on the site: meetings with the Minister of Energy, their own discussions, etc. The key uniqueness of the Youth Day is that we gather those who really want to get here, strive throughout the year, compete, and for them this is the final chord.

What contribution can young people make to the development of the country's energy sector?

The contests in which the guys take part include competitive models, all of which are built around interactive tasks dedicated to the development of our country's energy sector.

There is such an interesting project "Forecasting the development of the energy sector through the eyes of youth." Students form teams at the qualifying stages based on the principle of the university where they study or the company they work for. They prepare a forecast about how they see the development of energy. And at the exit, the three best teams of students and the three best teams of young professionals are selected. Their task at the Youth Day is to form a unified forecast of energy development. In other words, we are giving the guys an adult opportunity to talk about the future of our energy industry. Among the experts: university rectors, heads of companies. And the final forecast will get to the Minister of Energy, as a result of the work of the guys. Therefore, what they are doing here is not just a competitive task that will be put on the table, but a solution that will be used within specific companies, universities, or as a forecast for the development of the entire energy sector.

How do you assess the interest of young people in energy?

A round table was held here on the issues of popularization and development of engineering specialties, as well as the interest of young people to come to the fuel and energy complex. A survey was conducted in advance. We asked the schoolchildren and students participating in the Youth Day a few questions. And one of them sounded like this: "Do you think that today the IT profession is more interesting and tempting than the engineering profession?". And 90% answered yes. Therefore, we need to make joint efforts to get the guys interested in working in the energy sector, the coal industry, the oil and gas industry, the electric power industry, related industries, metallurgy, petrochemistry, etc.

Why? Because working in the energy sector is a job, first of all, in the region. Very few people get to Moscow immediately at the main office, you need to start from the region, and this is a job in real production. Our industry is still losing out to the prospect of staying at home, working on a computer, and making a living. Therefore, the common task, including within the framework of the Youth Day, is to show how interesting and in-demand this profession is.

We live in a time when Russian technologies are necessary, and we need to replace a large number of technologies that are used in this industry. They should appear in Russia, they need to be invented, patented, put into production, and they need to learn how to work on them. At the Youth Day, company executives will discuss what joint projects are needed to popularize the engineering and technical specialty and the fuel and energy sector as a whole.

Speaking of the Children's Edition… We asked the young people and the heads of companies what kind of project could come up so that everyone would unite, and it would contribute to the popularization of energy. 86% answered that they need a media project with some famous blogger. Therefore, what you are doing is very cool, you show and tell about professions that are not the simplest, but which are necessary today.

Are large companies also interested in participating in Youth Days?

Yes, they have two tasks here. The first is the development of our own youth. Mostly children under the age of 35, who are part of the personnel reserve, are sent here. Companies are looking at their future promising management team, which was assembled from the regions and brought here. And secondly, they are looking for personnel here. The students who came here really want to work in the profession. And companies have the opportunity to see how they will protect their projects and make job offers in the future. The feedback from the companies for the registration period for the Youth Day is the highest.

What kind of young employees do large companies need?

As part of the study, we asked young people about how they see themselves in the future, and asked employers what kind of young professionals they need. The young people's answers are mainly that they need feedback, that they need to be praised, and that they want to see their growth prospects. And industry-based employers say that it is very important to develop responsibility among young people, engagement in what they do, and multitasking. A good employee consists of 50% to 50% of the so-called hard skills (what he learned in university, learned in practice) and soft skills (the ability to speak, present, work in a team).

Are there many young people working in the energy sector now?

We see a lot of youth events. And after the adoption of the law on young professionals, when the age was raised from 30 to 35 years, it became even more. Therefore, the energy industry is quite young.

Which professions in the energy sector are most in demand among young people?

The junction of engineering and IT. This is the most in-demand area right now. Many universities are already doing dual degree programs. For example, you can study for an oilman at the bachelor's degree, and for an IT master's degree. These are the top professions that will be in demand. But, of course, every company has its own basic specialty.

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