Issues of personnel training in the electric power industry were discussed at the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan

A meeting was held at the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the issue of personnel training in the electric power industry, chaired by Minister Almasadam Satkaliev.

Representatives of the Kazakhstan energy workers trade union and the Electric Power Association made presentations.

According to the chairman of the NGO “Kazakhstan Industrial Trade Union of Power Engineers” Orazbek Bekbas, today the issue of training professional personnel and their shortage is acute, especially in energy transmission organizations.

“The level of training of specialists in the energy sector does not meet the increasing workload, the complexity of production projects and the speed of their implementation, leading to delays in completing work, and, consequently, to delays in the delivery and commissioning of facilities. The prestige of the profession today has decreased more than ever. Young people don't want to go into the energy sector. Here, in addition to training, urgent measures need to be taken to create high-quality working conditions for specialists,” Bekbas noted, speaking at the meeting.

According to him, over the past seven years there has been a negative trend in the age of personnel at energy enterprises. The share of young personnel in the industry is decreasing, while in the age category of 50 years and above it is increasing. Up to 40% of newly hired staff leave within the first year of work.

According to the participants, the reason for these problems is the low level of wages and the lack of social support measures.

As a result of the meeting, it was decided to consider the possibility of introducing amendments to the Labour Code, providing for the inclusion in the employment contract of a clause on mandatory work in the event that the employer pays for the training of specialists.

The need to separate classifiers for educational programs in the electric power industry and introduce classifiers for heat power engineering and heating engineering will also be studied jointly with relevant government agencies.

In addition, it is planned to consider the possibility of including in the tariff the costs of social payments to employees of the electric power industry, as well as payments allocated for personnel training.