Two years ago, Polyus launched ‘Polyus Class’, a one-year vocational training course run at a Krasnoyarsk vocational school. The first intake of 45 high school students were given a real insight into the mining sector, taking a deep dive into mining related subjects and enrolling on a professional development and training programme aimed at the mining industry. The very first Polyus Class intake celebrated their graduation this summer.
Elena Sigida, Headteacher at Krasnoyarsk Vocational School, said:“When we first initiated this project, our goal was to offer students a social resource that was free of charge, and would help them prepare for applying to relevant institutions of higher education. Our aim is to first and foremost provide career guidance to young people and help them make a well-informed decision on the choice of their future profession, which this course hopefully achieves.”
The initiative is being led in partnership with the Krasnoyarsk School of Non-Ferrous Metals and Material Science, always on the lookout for qualified and motivated new students.
The three-phase selection process includes three months of career guidance tests and an interview with the admissions committee, which selected 45 students from 17 different schools in Krasnoyarsk. The students attend weekly classes that last six hours.
Only 25 of the selected students made it to graduation in this intake, but each of them gained an accurate understanding of what a mining engineer’s job is like and whether they would like to pursue it further. Many of the graduates are now preparing to apply for professional education as mining engineers.
Alexander from School No. 45 said:“Polyus Class helped me decide on my future career. I am especially grateful to my teacher for all the advice. Pretty much all of us here now know exactly what we want to study at university.”
Another Alexander from School No. 8 commented:“I like many subjects, but I know for sure that I am not cut out for humanities, so I have decided to become an engineer. A Polyus engineer, if I’m lucky.”
Polyus representatives who attended the graduation ceremony said they were confident that this programme would help identify and educate students who would go on to obtain scholarships from the company and could eventually become qualified to join its employee base.