Belarusian energy minister to attend Russian Energy Week
“You can’t change the meeting place” – says the young staff of OJSC “Amkodor-KEZ” about their enterprise, half-jokingly. In recent years, the plant has firmly held the top positions among the city-forming enterprises of the Tolochin district and has become a desirable place of work for young people.
In the workshop, we meet Anastasia Medvedskaya and Ivan Blagoderov. The guys are former classmates, graduates of the Kokhanovo Secondary School. Both have a year of experience at the plant. The girl graduated from the Vitebsk Technological University and returned to the plant as an economist for planning. Ivan, after graduating from the Belarusian-Russian University, joined as a process engineer. In a year, he rose to the position of Head of the Design Department:
— I am glad that they believed in me, although I was worried about how I would cope. The mentoring support of senior colleagues helped. The work is interesting, and there is a lot of new ahead. It’s good when there are such productions in small settlements like ours – it’s better to live and work in your hometown.
The interest of young people in working at the enterprise did not arise out of nowhere. Children from all over the district regularly come here for excursions. Many have relatives working here, who share their opinions about the prospects of production. Even luckier are the children of factory workers. From the 3rd to the 11th grade, for good grades (with an average academic performance of at least 9 points per quarter), they receive a monthly scholarship – one basic amount. Currently, 12 “Amkodor children” receive it – this is how potential successors of family labor dynasties are called here. Everyone is aware of what the factory is living for, what its prospects and opportunities are, says another young specialist, test driver Andrey Klimovich, joining the conversation. He is also from the local area, and started working recently. The guy sets ambitious goals for himself, intending to improve in his profession:
— The management provides opportunities for professional development, retraining, and acquiring a related specialty. I see vivid examples of other factory workers who have built careers from scratch. Plus, a large social package and a good family atmosphere in the team. This attracts people, especially young people. Therefore, I consider the plant a good place to start. Further, everything depends on me, I just need to try.
In the welding shop, we meet 18-year-old Andrey Alekhno. He has been here since August. Originally from Kokhanovo, he graduated from the Orsha Polytechnic College with a degree in “Electric and Gas Welder,” the guy tells us about himself:
— There was a choice of where to go. But I was lucky – there is a strong enterprise in my district. The housing issue is not relevant for me – I live in my parents' house. The salary is 1.5 thousand rubles on average – which is quite good for a beginner in the profession. The working conditions are good. Look around: the workshop is in order, new modern equipment everywhere. I am satisfied.
Many people know firsthand what the conditions are like at the plant, says the deputy director of the enterprise, Elena Podolitskaya:
— The President visited here, got acquainted with the production, and positively assessed what he saw. This spurred the interest of young people in the plant, and for us it became an additional incentive in our work.
The deputy director – chief engineer Denis Alexandrov confirms:
— Alexander Lukashenko's visit last year largely predetermined the direction of production development. We discussed the market's needs for reclamation equipment. We focused on this in our further work, significantly expanding the product range. Volumes have also increased, and currently our capacities are fully loaded. We strive to meet plans and not let customers down.
The implementation of two important investment projects is planned for the future. One is related to the production of a 100% domestic bulldozer, its prototypes are already undergoing testing. The second will be implemented under the "One District – One Project" program initiated by the President. It is planned to expand production capacities, which will allow us to triple the number of manufactured machines (up to 30 units per month) and create new jobs. The demand for the plant's products both in the domestic and Russian markets is growing, so the enterprise urgently needs new workers, emphasizes Denis Alexandrov:
— It is important that the work on modernization and development of production is ongoing. For example, a new excavator model is currently undergoing testing. It is used side-by-side with a similar imported machine for cleaning reclamation canals and performs well. Sanctions have spurred us to quickly reorient the procurement of necessary components from Europe to Asia. We are actively developing relations with China. As a result, we have acquired new reliable partners who supply quality and cheaper goods. Europeans can only be pitied: politics there is detrimental to the economy and the real interests of their own population.