The major area of the manpower policy is training of qualified specialists. SK MOST Group has made trilateral training contracts with a score of Russian higher education institutions.

The most part of the contracts has been made with the higher educational institutions specializing in civil engineers training, namely Moscow State University of Transport Routes (a 35% share of contracts) and Siberian State University of Transport Routes (a 45% share).

According to the contracts, students shall have mandatory externship at enterprises of SK MOST Group. Over the last five years 290 students have gained a job-related experience at sites and offices of SK MOST, including work with construction crews on the major projects of SK MOST under construction. For example, in 2009 105 students participated in construction of cable-stayed bridge to Russky Island across the Eastern Bosporus Strait in Vladivostok, while 118 trainees were engaged in construction of combined highway and railway road Adler - Alpika-Service mountain resort.

Starting the first course as unskilled workers, the students develop to job foremen by the fifth course. By the end of the training they become specialists with considerable hands-on experience. Throughout the training period students are provided with scholarship paid by their future employer and upon graduation project defense, they must work for the Company for 5 years. Apart from competitive earning, young specialists are provided with complete social package, including housing provision.

Over the period from 2005 to 2010, 158 persons have graduated from the leading technical universities of Russia for account of SK MOST Group, while 71 more persons are under training. Over the same period 153 young university graduates were slotted into jobs at SK MOST departments.

Support of Russian higher education institutions is the essential part of social and manpower policy of the company. By the 1st of September, 2007 students of Siberian State University of Transport Routs (Novosibirsk) received as a gift from SK MOST Group a new lecture hall equipped with state-of-the-art computer hardware, audio and video equipment. Year 2009 was marked with fitting out of the geodesics chamber of Moscow State University of Transport Routes and purchasing of surveying equipment for the university to use.

Advanced Training

SK MOST is a standing initiator of industry conferences and workshops devoted to advanced technologies and materials research and in-depth discussion of issues, pertaining to legal, regulatory, and technical framework in construction. In addition, the enterprise has continuous advanced training programs in place. Staff members training is carried out under the auspices of the leading study centers of the country; this includes, in particular, regular arrangement of training courses and workshop conferences at Moscow State University of Transport Routes.

In 2010 SK MOST opened its own training center in Sochi. This non-profit institution will train specialists with secondary or higher technical education. The curriculum provides training in 28 trades, including high-demand trades like concrete layer, gas/electric welder, loader operator, strapper, tower crane operator and electrician. Each training course lasts 2-4 weeks and includes lectures and practice at SK MOST’s production facilities. Up to 1,500 people could upgrade their qualifications annually.

In February 2010 SK MOST Group held a workshop in Sochi devoted to the peculiarities of tracks on ballast bridges construction. The workshop was focused on the issues of supply, assembly, and erection of decks utilized for construction of railway bridges for the road Adler - Alpika-Service mountain resort. More than 100 specialists from all over the country participated, among them representatives of manufacturing plants from Ulan-Ude, Voronezh, Yaroslavl, and other cities.

On March 4, 2010 Sochi was the venue for a workshop initiated by SK MOST Group for discussion of concrete and concrete mixes quality. Specialists of Central Research Institute for Transport Construction (Moscow) were invited to participate in the workshop. Apart from reporting on the applicable process procedures, they answered a number of questions the manufacturers were concerned about.

The conference held by SK MOST Group on April 13, 2010 at Moscow State University of Transport Routes was devoted to construction of the cable-stayed bridge to Russky Island in Vladivostok. Heads of federal authorities, skilled constructors, design institutes, representatives of academic sciences from Moscow State University of Transport Routes, Moscow State Technical University named after N.E. Bauman, Moscow Auto-Road Institute, Moscow Architectural Construction Institute, Siberian State University of Transport Routs, as well as representatives of foreign companies from France (Freyssinet), Japan (Itochu Corp.), and Germany (Maurer Soehne) were among participants of the conference that was aimed to contribute to development and improvement of cable-stayed bridges designing and construction methods.