13.12.2012

Severstal Resources (OAO Severstal's mining division) and the Moscow Mining University (Russ. "MGGU") have signed a cooperation agreement to improve the MGGU-based joint student program.

The agreement was signed at the MGGU in a ceremony attended by  Agnes Ritter, Operations Director at Severstal Resources, and Andrei Belyshev, the Division's HR Director.

Mr Belyshev said: "Our people are our major asset. Our main area of investment is our personnel, followed by machinery and equipment. We believe that this is what makes Severstal so successful in implementing its development strategy. We set far-reaching goals, and we need young leaders who stand out from the crowd to attain those. We hope that the improvement of MGGU's student program will help the company to engage young blood."

Severstal is wholly committed to building up its team of manufacturing and technical specialists and reinforcing the workforce capacity at its existing and prospective facilities in Russia and abroad. Students who complete their MGGU program and production practice will be offered employment at one of the company's business units. Moreover, this will be a managerial position from the very start.

Ms Ritter said: "Our company is focused on innovation and implementing best practices at manufacturing facilities. Therefore, we are continuously seeking new efficient ideas and tools. We need people with good communication skills and fluency in English, as well as with extensive technical knowledge: this is a new generation for the mining and steel-making industry that is capable of carrying our large-scale and promising projects."

Severstal's initial cooperation with MGGU began more than seven years ago to create sector-oriented classes at schools in regions where Severstal had a presence to offer practical training for students and to establish a "young professional" status for graduates at the company's business units. Starting in 2012, as part of the partnership program, MGGU launched extracurricular mining training sessions for sector-oriented students. There are currently about 150 students from regions where Severstal has a presence studying at MGGU.

The Moscow State Mining University is one of Russia's leading technical institutions of higher education and trains mining engineers to the highest level. MGGU comprises 5 academic departments and 39 divisions, out of which 24 divisions produce new graduates; there are 22 professional qualifications available.

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