Elena Kryuchkova, Head of Charitable Activities and Development of Corporate Communities of PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel spoke at the "Innovative Role of Youth in Social Development" panel discussion during the 5th Regional Social Innovation Forum held in Moscow on September 5-8.
She spoke about Norilsk Nickel's experience in implementing youth projects: "The company's enterprises are located beyond the Arctic Circle. We, as an employer and a city-forming company, face difficult tasks of developing and improving the quality of life in the region. We want people to choose this place to live and work."
Today, it is often not the employer who chooses the young specialist, but the young specialist who chooses the employer, Kryuchkova stated. "Last year, Norilsk Nickel reloaded its approach to youth projects by merging them under one umbrella brand of the youth community named "In Good Company", aimed at different target audiences. The goal of the program is to bring young employees of Norilsk Nickel under 35 years of age into the corporate community, stimulate their professional and creative growth, and to realize their potential in various fields and directions, while identifying talented students and young professionals and attracting them to the company."
The program involves such paths as a growth track, professional practices and training for career development. Self-realization mechanisms have been developed within social initiatives, social practices, and the involvement of young people in projects to make progress in regions of the company's operations, said Elena Kryuchkova. "There is an opportunity for creative development, and there is an opportunity to organize initiatives, to become the leader of your territory. While developing project activities, young people learn a lot."
Regarding integrated territorial development projects, the speaker noted a number of programs for different target groups from schoolchildren and students to young professionals. "A large charitable program "The World of New Opportunities" has been launched and is operating. Its purpose is to create favorable conditions and opportunities for the sustainable development of the regions where Norilsk Nickel operates. There are also projects named the "Conquerors of the North", "First Arctic", "Professional Start", and many other initiatives."
It is very important to work with all these people so that they remain in the region and contribute to the social agenda and development, Elena Kryuchkova noted. "If we talk about enterprises, then more than 30 percent of our employees are young people. In addition to wages, young people now have, first of all, a request for self-realization, so we face a difficult task to create a high-quality urban environment in the regions of our presence so that people can live and work comfortably. This direction is being implemented jointly with territorial development agencies in cooperation with authorities and our partners."
When you work in production or manufacturing, it is very difficult to build horizontal relationships and it is very important that you have quality leisure time, including outside the enterprise, the speaker emphasized. "Comprehensive solutions offered by Norilsk Nickel give everyone the opportunity to realize their ideas for the company, enterprise, and development of the territory."
Among the initiatives already implemented by the company are the "Dashing" Ecological Marathon, regional eco-shifts in government-protected natural areas, construction of eco-trails, cleaning of Taimyr lakes by corporate volunteers, youth projects named "Cape of Dreams" (improvement of the shoreline of Lake Lumbolka), "Point of Heat "(design and creation of a modular house on the "Ski calls" route), the restoration of the historical Komsomolsky square in Monchegorsk and many others. Together with the Nature Reserve Embassy Charitable Foundation, Nornickel is implementing the "Arctic Lessons" project, which introduces schoolchildren and students to the unique Arctic nature and develops games like Eco-outpost, Eco-quest, Sustainable Development Quiz.
