Experts and ambassadors of the foundation told how to attract talented personnel to the electric power industry

Experts, ambassadors and partners of the Reliable Change Foundation became participants of the business forum "Electrical Engineering. A new energy of development". Within the framework of the Young Shift seminar, the speakers, together with representatives of energy companies, discussed a roadmap for finding, attracting and retaining personnel at electrical engineering enterprises.  

Where can I find highly qualified young professionals, how can I interest and retain them in a rapidly changing world with more profitable financial offers, and how can an electrical engineering company work with talent? The Head of the Development Department of the Reliable Shift Foundation devoted his speeches to these and other relevant topics Anastasia Larionova, the leading expert of the Personnel Development Department of JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System" Ilya Moskvin, Postgraduate student at the University of Science and Technology MISIS, Chairman of the club of prize-winners and winners of the International Engineering Championship CASE-IN Nikita Maslennikov, Scientific Secretary of the NTS and NTI Department of the Scientific and Technical Center of PJSC ROSSETI Alexander Khrennikov.

Since 2007, the Reliable Change Foundation has been implementing projects aimed at popularizing engineering and technical education and training the next generation of specialists for companies in the fuel and energy complex, the Moscow Energy Complex, the nuclear industry, construction, architecture and other industries. In close cooperation with leading Russian companies, opportunities are being created for the professional and personal development of young people and the training of a high-quality talent pool.

"The young people who will determine the future of Russian industry have their own views on how to address the key challenges of our time. – sure Anastasia Larionova. – Therefore, the effectiveness of the use of advanced technologies, the introduction of scientific and technical developments, as well as the digital transformation of the industry will depend on today's schoolchildren, students and young professionals." 

The center of attraction for talented young people is the International Engineering CASE-IN Championship, which is held with the support of the presidential platform "Russia – the land of Opportunities". The essence of the championship is simple: participants, depending on their age group and training profile, solve engineering cases and create technical devices on topics relevant to the industry.

The main theme of the new XIII season of the CASE-IN championship was "Technological innovations". Participants of the School and Student Leagues, as well as the League of Working Professions and the League of Young Professionals will develop projects to introduce innovations into production, which should become an impetus for achieving technological sovereignty and the formation of a strong and competitive national economy.

As the figures show, the championship is a kind of social elevator for its participants. 90% of students enrolled in specialized universities, while 31% used additional USE points. 30% of students are invited to practice, and 26% associate their employment with CASE-IN. 42% of young professionals were promoted at work during the year, and 34% of the team's solutions were implemented in production. According to the results of last season, 55% of the championship participants believe that the CASE-IN ecosystem has influenced their subsequent path in engineering and technical specialties, and 83% of participants would like to return to the CASE-IN ecosystem in any of the participation statuses: from participant to expert and guest of projects. 

Nikita Maslennikov, In turn, he told how participants in the Reliable Change Foundation's projects interact with peers and company representatives to provide career guidance and promote engineering and technical education.

Purposeful young people continue to develop and share knowledge within the framework of the CASE-IN Winners' Club established in 2023. "We are engaged in the development of the championship: we offer new educational formats, hold webinars, meetings, and promote engineering professions and engineering and technical education. Club members actively participate in federal educational projects, share their experience gained at the championship and come up with their own projects."- the speaker noted.

In addition, since the fall of 2024, Club members have been participating in the regional forums "Teachers of Russia - Innovations in Education". Constructive meetings with teachers and school leaders have already been held in the cities of Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Novy Urengoy, Omsk, Pyatigorsk, Samara, St. Petersburg, Tomsk, Tyumen. 

"We talk about projects for schoolchildren, career guidance for high school students in the field of engineering and technical professions, and the work of industry companies with schools., – Nikita Maslennikov explained. – OT teachers will learn how students can apply their interest in exact sciences, programming, design, and engineering, as well as how to help them realize their talents and strengthen their skills in order to enroll in a chosen university and master sought-after engineering specialties."

The ambassadors of the championship conduct classes in educational circles. CASE-IN is an additional general development program designed to develop engineering thinking of schoolchildren through familiarization with cases. Classes in circles develop engineering and general scientific skills of students in grades 5-11, industrial thinking of children, and also involve them in scientific and technical creativity and solving real production problems. 

The active participants of the fund's projects, together with the heads of government authorities, industry companies and universities, are asking important questions about the development of the industry at the Youth Day of the International Forum "Russian Energy Week". The program of the main youth event in the Fuel and energy complex consists of events dedicated to the popularization of the fuel and energy complex and engineering and technical education. The key value of the Youth Day is a free discussion between the industry leadership, experts and the younger generation of professionals. Here, industry youth and experts exchange ideas and jointly form a youth agenda for the coming year.

He spoke about the cooperation between the fund and JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System". Ilya Moskvin. Since 2007, the company and the foundation have been developing a variety of formats and platforms in order to identify the best future professionals and prepare them qualitatively for work in the industry. Through joint efforts, a system has been created aimed at successful career guidance for schoolchildren, university students and young specialists from industry companies, he noted.

"We introduce high school students to the electric power industry, help them prepare for admission to specialized universities, participate in industry-specific educational projects and further employment in an energy company., – Ilya Moskvin told the story. – Based on the results of 18 years of the system's implementation, it can be noted that career guidance for schoolchildren gives them the opportunity to occupy the top positions in the ranking lists of the best university students. The leadership of specialized faculties and departments of Russian universities notes an increase in the motivation of students of general education institutions and a high level of knowledge of applicants."

One of the key projects for schoolchildren is the specialized Professional Orientation Program of the Reliable Shift Energy Group, which has been operating since 2007. Not only physics and mathematics classes are held for participants, but also scientific and practical conferences, project and laboratory assignments. During excursions to enterprises, curious children get acquainted with the work of energy facilities and communicate with industry specialists.

The project focuses on high-quality preparation for the Unified State Exam, and helps the strongest students to get additional points. The energy groups have already educated several dozen talented graduates who, thanks to the project, have entered specialized universities and have already received an invitation from a prestigious employer or are on the verge of their first professional experience. The curators of the program note that every year 20-25% of students, depending on their specialty, enroll in different universities in the country.

Another project is designed for an older age - cooperation with partner universities and specialized training of undergraduates on the basis of the company's flagship universities. Every year, more than 50 graduates of the program join the team of branches of JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System" in various regions of the country.

The scientific component of the projects of JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System" is supported by conferences. Thus, the International Scientific and Technical Conference "Electric Power Industry through the Eyes of Youth" is held annually on the basis of one of the leading specialized universities in Russia. The reports of the conference participants – young researchers from Russia's leading energy companies and university students – relate to the most pressing topics of the industry's functioning and development: various aspects of managing electric power systems, operating modes and equipment of electrical networks and systems, relay protection and automation, digital technologies in the electric power industry, etc.

The M.O. Dolivo-Dobrovolsky International Student Olympiad in Theoretical and General Electrical Engineering is held in individual and team competitions between full-time students studying the theoretical foundations of electrical engineering (general electrical engineering). Participants solve problems on the following topics: direct current circuits; alternating current circuits, including non-sinusoidal current; three-phase circuits, transients in linear electrical circuits of the first and second order, etc.

As part of their work with schoolchildren, specialists from JSC "System Operator of the Unified Energy System" and the Reliable Shift Foundation annually travel to industry youth forums to introduce participants to leading professions in the field of energy. 

He has been on an industry shift since 2017 #More vividly, at the VDC Orlyonok, schoolchildren get acquainted with energy, ecology and energy efficiency, and learn to take care of the environment and natural resources. In the same region, hundreds of students from all over the country learn to work in a team and analyze large amounts of data, study energy efficiency in detail, and personally get to know leading industry representatives at the Smena VDC. During their shifts, they take the first conscious steps in choosing a future profession and imagine themselves in the place of great specialists.

Alexander Khrennikov in his speech He focused on the training of young personnel for the electric power industry: he spoke about the training of graduate students as the highest category of human resources for the energy industry.

The general opinion of all speakers was the importance of working with young people in a variety of modern formats in order to attract the most motivated and active young people to energy companies.