Avtostrada, one of the leaders of road and bridge construction in Ukraine, has signed the dual education program agreement with the Kharkiv National Automobile and Road University.
The dual education program is the combination of studying in professional technical educational institutions with work in road construction companies. In Ukraine, there are only a few similar educational programs, which are being implemented, aimed at eliminating the technical professionals’ lack.
Starting from the 2022/2023 academic year, KhNADU students will be able to work on the roads and bridges of Avtostrada during their studies. The company has received more than 100 applications for participation in the program. The harmonization of the study format, curricula, and student assessment criteria is currently being finalized.
Dual education, which was first introduced in Germany in the 1960s, is now widely practiced in a number of European countries. For Ukraine, it is a know-how that is only gaining momentum. Avtostrada is ready to adopt the European approach and promote the project by transferring its best practices to educational institutions in order to bring the educational process to a qualitatively new level. This will help students to get deep knowledge of modern technologies and innovations used in road construction, and gain working experience with the latest technology.
This approach will allow training professionals who need both the company and the market. Students will receive all the necessary skills and will be able to work in the relevant sphere.
“Participation in the dual education program is a continuation of Avtostrada’s systematic approach to employees’ development. We have internal programs for staff development and training, internships, special internships with a guaranteed social package, as well as scholarship initiatives. Avtostrada updates the technical base of specialized educational institutions. Employees of the company share their experience with students at open lectures, meetings, and study tours to the company’s production facilities. Our goal is to popularize the profession of a road worker in order to help train a new generation of professionals and eliminate the “staff shortage” in the industry”, said Kateryna Vasyuta, HR Director of Avtostrada.
According to the rector of KhNADU Viktor Bogomolov, the implementation of the dual education program will bring the training of future road workers to a qualitatively new level and increase the institutional capacity of the university. “We have a strong educational base and strive to give our students the most up-to-date knowledge. Launching a dual form of training in cooperation with Avtostrada, one of the most innovative companies on the market, is an opportunity for our students to gain the full range of practical skills they need. Participants in the program will have exactly the experience that will allow them to succeed in the profession. About 50% of the internship will be the process of learning on-site. This internship will bridge the gap between the theory in lectures and the modern realities of the profession”, said Victor Bogomolov.
Avtostrada has been cooperating with Kharkiv National Automobile and Road University for a long time. The company employs almost 50 graduates of KhNADU, 35 of whom hold senior positions. Half of those who completed the training course was transferred to the positions of engineering and technical workers. Also, Avtostrada employees are undergoing advanced training at KhNADU, and employees of the university are involved in providing scientific and technical support for road construction projects of Avtostrada.
For reference
Avtostrada Group of Companies is one of the leaders in the road construction sector, a powerful modern Ukrainian company that has its own production chains and is part of MS|Capital holding. The company carries out major repairs and construction of roads and bridges. It owns more than 2.5 thousand units of specialized equipment and has a team of 5.5 professionals.
Virtual reality: to what extent does technology affect the success of a grower?
Date December 2, 2021 (Thursday)
Time 14:00
Link
Technology has changed dramatically over the last twenty years. Thanks to its rapid development, we explore, interact, buy and live differently. Agriculture is no exception. Growers can no longer work without satellites, drones and artificial intelligence. Technologies that help to collect data are becoming very important. However, perception of modern agriculture can be quite different – from a small farmer in a cab of old tractor to highly mechanized operations full of tractors and thousands of hectares. Sometimes it may seem that only high-tech farms use digital technology. But this is not quite true. Similar to how everyone on the planet uses smartphones, growers protect their crops with digital technology. But can digitalization really transform agriculture? Can a farmer grow more using less?
This is what we will discuss on December 2 during the panel discussion “Transformation of Agriculture through Digital Technology”:
These and other important topics our participants will be discussing during the panel discussion:
Moderator: Oleg Nivievskyi, Assistant Professor/Center for Food and Land Use Research at Kyiv School of Economics
Partner: Bayer.
Ferrexpo entered the top 4 family-friendly companies in Ukraine and topped the rating in Mining and Metallurgical Industry. On November 23, 2021, the official presentation of the research results and the announcement of the winners took place. The survey was conducted by the Center for the Development of Corporate Social Responsibility at the request of the United Nations Population Fund in Ukraine. 50 companies from 16 economy sectors took part in the survey.
Ferrexpo Group Business Units (Poltava Mining, Yeristovo Mining, Belanovo Mining) implement a policy aimed at supporting male and female workers with their families. The company uses best practices to create favorable conditions for meeting the needs of people in the company.
For a balance between work and personal life, at the level of corporate culture, mutual respect for a person’s personal time is maintained, so it is not customary to bother a colleague after the end of the working day, on weekends or during holidays, with the exception of emergency production situations. For the third year in a row, the Employee Well-Being Program has been in operation, training webinars on physical and mental health, financial literacy have been held. There is a hotline of psychological support on an ongoing basis, to which every male or female employee can apply.
To preserve and improve the physical health of the staff, Ferrexpo operates an expanded medical life and health insurance program, conducts medical examinations at its own medical and sanitary base with the latest equipment, provides free access to the swimming pool, preferential vouchers for health improvement and classes in a sports complex.
Ferrexpo is a leader in Ukraine in the implementation of the gender equality and inclusion principles. The women of the company are provided with comprehensive support for maximum self-realization both at home and at work. More than 160 women are trained at the Fe_Munity Women’s Leadership School, where they receive support and motivation. For women on maternity leave, remote or flexible working hours are possible. The Paternity leave program has been implemented is if a married couple works at the Business Unit, and the man’s salary are higher, with participation in the program, the wife will receive compensation in salary while the man is on paternity leave, so that the family budget does not suffer.
Ferrexpo has a number of benefits in accordance with the terms of the collective agreement, in addition to what is assigned by law. For example, a material payment in connection with marriage, to the parents of a first-grader, New Year’s gifts and preferential health-improving vouchers for children, financial assistance to employees who find themselves in difficult life circumstances.
Anna Adom, HR Director of Ferrexpo Poltava Mining
“A family-friendly attitude on the part of the employer has a positive effect on labor productivity. We understand that comfortable working conditions for employees with family responsibilities contribute to increased loyalty to the employer. And the well-being of our employees, generally, has a positive effect on the efficiency of our company.”
About Ferrexpo:
Ferrexpo is a Swiss headquartered iron ore company with assets in Ukraine. It has been.mining, processing and selling high quality iron ore pellets to the global steel industry for over 40 years. In 2020, the Group produced 11.2 million tonnes of iron ore pellets, a 7% increase on the prior year. The Company is ranked as the world’s 3rd largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry with a market share of approximately 9%. Ferrexpo has a diversified customer base supplying steel mills in Austria, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Vietnam and America. Ferrexpo has a premium listing on the main market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker FXPO. For further information, please visit www.ferrexpo.com.
The Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards 2021 summed up last year’s results and chose the winners among 900 corporate and documentary films submitted to the festival.
One of the winners was the film “Anna”, directed by Maxim Chuzha. The short film tells the story of the sports career of a multiple-time champion of Ukraine, Europe, and the 2018 World Boxing Championship vice-champion, Anna Okhota, supported by Ferrexpo as part of its corporate social responsibility program in support of sports and local communities.
The five-minute video won the sports films category, winning the festival’s commemorative silver dolphin award. About 50 films from the post-soviet countries apply for this award every year, but over the past 12 years, only four films of Ukrainian production have been selected at this festival in Cannes. It is noteworthy that this year the jury did not determine a clear winner in this category and have not awarded a single golden dolphin. Instead, the victory was shared between the Ukrainian film “Anna” and the French “Roland Garros – Building the legend”.
Anna is an athlete from the small town of Horishni Plavni, Poltava region, who shares her story of victories and failures, training secrets, diet, talks about how she feels in and out of the ring, as well as her dream. This city became famous for its athletes after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games when everyone found out about Liudmyla Luzan, who won silver and bronze medals for the Ukrainian rowing team. “Our city can boast of champions of Ukraine, Europe, and the world, as well as Olympic champions thanks to the support of Ferrexpo,” Anna Okhota’s coach, Oleksandr Serednitskiy, said.
According to the athlete, her strongest rival is herself. “By defeating myself, I can defeat everyone else,” Anna added.
“Supporting the development of sports is an important part of Ferrexpo’s corporate social responsibility programs. We fund hundreds of athletes in the region where the company operates, allowing them to train in the best possible conditions. And we are happy when, thanks to our support, many of them become prize-winners and champions of the most prestigious Ukrainian, European and world competitions,” Yuriy Khimich, head of CSR Department at Ferrexpo, said.
Reference:
Since 2010, the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards Festival has set world standards for corporate films. The festival jury, consisting of Oscar and Emmy winners and corporate communications specialists, is a guarantee of the winners’ quality. Winners from all five continents and Grand Prix winners from Australia, Brazil, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland make the festival genuinely international.
https://www.cannescorporate.com/en/
Anna Okhota is a multiple-time champion of Ukraine, Europe, and the 2018 World Boxing Championship vice-champion.
Ferrexpo is a Swiss iron ore company with assets in Ukraine. The company’s main activity is producing and exporting high-quality iron ore pellets used in steel production. Ferrexpo is the largest manufacturer and exporter of pellets among the countries of the former USSR. Current production assets are Poltava and Yeristovo Mining. Ferrexpo PLC owns 100% of the shares of Ferrexpo AG, which, in turn, owns 100% of the shares of Poltava Mining and 100% of the shares of Yeristovo Mining. In 2020, the company produced 11.2 million tons of iron ore pellets. The primary consumers of products are steel companies from Austria, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Vietnam, and the United States. Ferrexpo shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker FXPO. For more information, visit www.ferrexpo.com
From 2023, Ukraine will have to store vitrified products of spent nuclear fuel reprocessing (high-level radioactive waste HLW) from Rivne, Khmelnytsky and South Ukraine nuclear power plants. Some time ago, the National Atomic Energy Generating Company ‘Energoatom’ sent this fuel to Russia.
This waste was recycled, and some of the radioactive materials suitable for reuse in industry or other fields were left behind. Unsuitable materials processed to an acceptable level of radiation safety will return to Ukraine.
The recycled waste should enter Ukraine in 2023. By this time, a special storage facility should be built in the Chornobyl zone, the construction of which should begin after the completion of tender procedures. The total amount of the contract for the construction of the storage facility exceeds UAH 4 billion.
According to the representatives of the Public Council under the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the construction of the repository is taking place not only in violation of the deadlines set by the project documentation, but also in violation of current legislation.
According to the intergovernmental agreement, the start of import of vitrified HLW from the Russian Federation to Ukraine, after processing and aging, is scheduled for early 2023. First, HLW will come from the processing of nuclear fuel from NPPs with WWER-440 reactors (pressurized water power reactor delivering 440 MW of electrical power).
That is, it will be the return of recycled fuel from the Rivne NPP, because such reactors are located there. The amount of such waste is 260 cubic meters. And from 2025, HLW from the processing of nuclear fuel from Ukrainian nuclear power plants with WWER-1000 reactors will be imported. That will be the waste from spent and reprocessed fuel of Khmelnytsky and South Ukraine NPPs.
In total, not only 590 cubic meters of such HLW will return to Ukraine, but also more than eight thousand cubic meters of intermediate-level radioactive waste. In order to safely store this waste, three storage facilities must be built on one construction site, though.
In 2009, a law was passed, according to which the construction of each particularly dangerous nuclear facility – a new nuclear power plant or research reactor – takes place after the adoption of a separate law for each new facility.
This was done in order to ensure a wide discussion and involvement of people’s deputies in the adoption of such a serious decision. The same rule applies to repositories intended for the storage of spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste with a design shelf life of more than 30 years. This is exactly the case.
According to environmentalists, holding tenders for the construction of storage facilities in the absence of legislation is unacceptable. On August 11, 2021, the State Specialized Enterprise “Central Enterprise for Radioactive Waste Management”, which is under the management of State Agency of Ukraine for Exclusion Zone Management, for the fourth time announced a tender “Construction of a storage facility for intermediate storage of high-level waste (HLW), which will return from the Russian Federation after the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel of Ukrainian NPPs.”
The representatives of the Public Council also stressed that the approved project of the repository (held in 2019) without proper legal grounds is another gross violation of applicable regulations.
Given the current state of the issue and taking into account the need for additional research, the development of technical specifications for equipment important for radiation safety and their coordination with the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU), the construction may begin no earlier than 2023.
That is, even in the case of compliance with the design terms of construction (24 months) acceptance of HLW WWER-440 can begin no earlier than 2026. Besides, if we take into account the experience of construction of SNFS-2 (storage of spent nuclear fuel of “dry” type – a facility designed to receive, prepare for storage and direct storage of spent fuel assemblies and spent additional absorbers that have accumulated at the Chernobyl NPP, built in 2001- 2020), it is generally difficult to determine clear deadlines for the completion of construction.
In addition, according to environmentalists, there is a problem of insufficient funding for the construction of storage facilities for HLW. In accordance with current regulations, such storage facilities are financed from the State Fund for Radioactive Waste Management of Ukraine, which is replenished by ‘Energoatom’ at the expense of the environmental tax. In January-December 2020, the environmental tax amounted to UAH 1,015,004 thousand. At the same time, the estimated cost of the object is UAH 4,112,739,805 in 2019 prices (which will increase as of 2022 and in subsequent years due to inflation and rising resource prices). Even if the environmental tax will be accumulated only for the construction of the storage facility, at the end of 2023 the State Fund for Radioactive Waste Management will have funds in the amount of UAH 4,060,018,508.72, which may negatively affect the project completion dates.
As a way out of the situation, the following can be suggested:
First, it is necessary to recognize the existence of the problem at the state level.
Secondly, urgently consult with experts and the expert community.
Thirdly, promptly adopt the relevant law, conduct a qualitative environmental impact assessment, rewrite the terms of the tender, and so on. To do this, the National Security and Defense Council must work – this is clearly a problem of national security. And the Parliament. And the President who can file the law mentioned above.
According to https://greenpost.ua
Citizens of Ukraine who have completed a full course of vaccination against coronavirus (COVID-19) will be able to enter Latvia and Greece if they have supporting documents, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said. “Another EU country, Greece, remained open to Ukrainians. Our citizens can enter it on the same conditions as before,” Kuleba said in Twitter on Friday.
He later added that Latvia also remains open for the entry of vaccinated Ukrainians.
“We continue to work with European partners to preserve freedom of travel,” Kuleba said.
Thus, at the moment, the number of EU countries that have left the possibility of entry for vaccinated citizens of Ukraine has reached 15. In addition to Latvia and Greece, they include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Slovakia, France, Croatia, Czech Republic and Sweden.
