Chemical industry needs technological leaders and successful experience of corporate universities

The strategic session "Continuing Professional Education Programs and Replication of Successful Experience of Corporate Universities" was held on October 31 as part of the business program of the International Exhibition "KHIMIA-2023".

The issue of finding and attracting personnel is on a par with such urgent issues as the development of strategies and technologies of production facilities. This problem is one of the priorities not only for the chemical industry, but also for the entire industrial sector.

The session was attended by representatives of business, legislative authorities, and educational institutions.

The expert opinion was presented by Maria Vasilkova, Chairman of the Expert Council for the Development of the Chemical Industry of the Committee on Industry and Trade of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, Victor Ivanov, President of the Russian Union of Chemists (RUC), Valery Katkalo, Director of the Higher School of Business of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Daria Shevyakina, Deputy Director of the Department of the Chemical Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, as well as representatives of industrial enterprises.

The strategic session was opened by Mikhail Sutyaginsky, Chairman of the Chemical Industry Committee of Business Russia and Vice-President of the Russian Union of Chemists. According to him, today there is a huge gap in staffing, and the selection of specialists will require serious efforts. If in the past there were workers' faculties and training centers at production facilities, the new times dictate new formats. Today's managers are obliged to pay close attention to the personnel issue. Specialists alone will not do at enterprises. It is important to raise the level of qualification with the participation of corporate universities, involve student project groups, invite them to scientific and practical conferences, support personal initiatives of young people, and promote engineering and working professions.

By the way, Titan Group is developing a project in one of the regions of its presence, when career guidance will be developed at the school level and there will be classes with focus on chemistry. Viktor Ivanov, President of the Russian Union of Chemists, noted that now the main task was to accumulate all successful experience in personnel training. He informed that the next year a separate commission will be established in the Russian Union of Chemists that will deal with personnel issues and summarize practices that work effectively today.

Maria Vasilkova, Chairman of the Expert Council for the Development of the Chemical Industry of the Committee on Industry and Trade of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, said that the council has already set up a working group to provide the industry with personnel. Among its tasks are transformation of the system of continuous training and popularization of the profession. Moreover, it is necessary to start showing the profession, its prospects and opportunities from adolescence, when there is a conscious choice of professional path, Vasilkova believes. And here there should be a high interest of the state. "If we want to go at the high economic rates announced today by our government, the chemical industry is the basic fundamental industry that should be focused on, both from the investment point of view and from the point of view of providing personnel," said Maria Vasilkova.

Daria Shevyakina, Deputy Director of the Department of Chemical Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, confirmed that today it is necessary to create all maximum conditions for young people to make them want to study specialties. Daria Shevyakina, Deputy Director of the Department of Chemical Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, confirmed that today it is necessary to create all maximum conditions for young people to make them want to study specialties. She reminded that there is already a program "Professionality" aimed at the development of specialized secondary education. Darya Shevyakina also suggested thinking about making targeted training a more popular form for chemical companies. Valery Katkalo, Director of the Higher School of Business at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, called corporate universities a mandatory part of the production management system in modern companies.  "It's a critical element of the employer brand. The problem is not only to hire young people, but also to retain them. What is needed for young people is the opportunity for interesting projects and continuous development," said Katkalo. The human component of large projects is a global trend. According to Katkalo, advanced technologies are being integrated into corporate training - educational experience management platforms, online learning, learning analytics. The task is to develop new educational solutions as quickly as possible to meet the new qualification needs that have arisen, and to competently replicate these solutions to the target audience - hundreds and thousands of people at enterprises.

The session also presented the practices of the Corporate Universities of Rosatom and Gazprom Neft.

Alina Rybina, moderator of the session, head of the working group on human resources of the Expert Council on the platform of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, announced that all the proposals that the participants made during the event would be collected at the end of the session. They will be brought to the working group meeting in the near future to form a draft of initiatives and recommendations for chemical industry enterprises.
The session was organized by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia with the support of the Chemical Industry Committee of the All-Russian Public Organization "Business Russia", the Russian Union of Chemists, and Expocenter JSC. Session partners: AO GC Titan and National Agency for Qualifications Development.

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