Energy Ministry speaks about BelNPP team, employment trends

MINSK, 26 September (BelTA) - Aleksei Derbin, Director of the Department of Nuclear Power Engineering of the Energy Ministry of Belarus, spoke about the team and working conditions at the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant (BelNPP) in a new episode of BelTA's project People Speak.

“We started forming a nuclear labor force in 2012-2013. Before that, as we know, we did not have our own nuclear power plant. Over the whole period from 2012-2013 to the present day, we have got some 600 young specialists. The BelNPP personnel totals 2,600 specialists. What main specialties do our workers possess? First of all, these are physicists who work in the reactor workshop. They are engaged in reactor physics. There are chemists who deal with chemical water treatment, purification and other issues in the chemical workshop. There are also engineers, specialists in turbine installations and thermal automation. Today, the plant has all necessary specialists recruited. This year we have 95 more specialists as part of the postgraduate work assignment program, and 28 new young specialists have joined us,” Aleksei Derbin said.

According to him, the employee retention rate is high at the plant. “If 600 young specialists have come to the station over the entire period of the project, 400 of them are still working here. It is all about the facility - it is the most technologically advanced in the country. People are proud of working here. This gives them a sense of responsibility. As soon as a specialist comes to work here, they start continuous training. This is necessary for the employees to know all the requirements and safety standards in their field and so on,” the director of the department said.

According to Aleksei Derbin, the working environment at the plant is positive. “Many families are created among the plant's workers. As far as I know, some 1.600 employees have got married so far, and more than 2,000 children have been born in these families. The plant provides all the opportunities for professional growth as well. Firstly, we have a clear and transparent growth system, i.e. if employees improve their qualifications, they get a promotion. We also have employer-sponsored students. There are currently 25 of them, and two more completing their training. We have examined our needs for the next five years - we will need about 45 people from higher education institutions and six from special secondary education institutions,” he said.

The basis higher education institutions to support BelNPP are the Belarusian State University, Belarusian National Technical University, Belarusian State University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, International Sakharov Environmental Institute of the Belarusian State University.

“Our young specialists are provided with everything they need. As for accommodation, we provide new specialists with a room in an apartment-type dormitory, or an apartment if these specialists have families. The area has necessary infrastructure including a high-tech hospital in Ostrovets, sports facilities where you can do any kind of sports, a swimming pool, kindergartens, schools, a gymnasium in Ostrovets, and specialized “atomic” classes. Our entire infrastructure is well developed. Apart from the usual human resources department, there is a training center engaged in the selection of promising young people. On 1 September, the head of state visited the National Children's Technopark and gave an instruction to take young people who are trained in power engineering on a tour around the nuclear power plant. The visit was organized a few days later. During the visit to our training center these young people were told how they could get to the plant. Only the best ones get to us. People, working in good conditions, receiving a decent salary, which corresponds to their level of competence and responsibility, do their best to work and grow. We have a lot of young people working at the plant. About 960 out of 2,600 employees are under the age of 31. This is quite a young team,” Aleksei Derbin said.