Russian Railways Invests In Education of Its Employees
29.06.2010 (16:11) | The St. Petersburg Times
Russian Railways and the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) in St. Petersburg continuing their collaboration- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Russian Railways and the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) in St. Petersburg signed a memorandum last week on continuing their collaboration via their modular executive MBA corporate training program.
The corporate training program corresponds to the first year of study at SSE, with two semesters divided into modules composed of lectures and interactive seminars. The top two graduates this year will be enrolled on a full-time course in Stockholm.
“It is important to have well-educated professionals in our company,” said Russian Railways President Vladimir Yakunin at the signing ceremony.
SSE President Lars Bergman said that the school’s close collaboration with one of Russia’s biggest structures was an honor for SSE, which works with 110 companies.
Local HR experts gave the program a positive assessent.
“Unlike the MBA, EMBA programs enable students to improve their management skills, acquire new knowledge and the ability to think strategically without taking a break from their work,” said Svetlana Lavrinenko, head of recruitment at Ancor.
“During the training course, students are given business cases that have been specially created to suit the company’s needs. Therefore each student can practically apply all of the knowledge gained,” she said.
There is a strict selection procedure for candidates, and only Russian Railways employees with “management experience, leadership potential, career progress, motivation for training, and teamwork skills” can enter the course. Seventy percent of the course fees are paid for by the company, and the other 30 percent is paid by the candidate.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the return on investment for the SSE Executive MBA program is 306 percent in five years. SSE is ranked second on the list of Executive MBA programs outside the U.S. by the newspaper. Russian Railways’ corporate training program enjoys considerable demand: 35 specialists have already graduated from the course, and this year 40 people will be awarded certificates.
Russia was ranked 63th in the Global Competitiveness Index 2009-2010, and many companies are realizing the need to invest in their employees’ education.
“The competitiveness of the Russian economy depends on many factors, including the quality of the human resources,” said Lavrinenko. “Vocational training, refresher courses and advanced training courses aren’t up to scratch, and this can be attributed to the fact that cooperation between business structures and universities hasn’t yet been established. Unfortunately, training programs can’t be quickly adapted to changing market conditions,” she said.
Yakunin declared his desire to see only competent people with a good command of foreign languages in his company, and promised to show no mercy.
The Stockholm School of Economics opened in Russia in 1997, and managed to survive the financial crisis that broke out a year later. The school, which last year celebrated its centenary, offers programs in both English and Russian, including corporate programs created specifically for corporate clients. According to its site, the SSE’s objective is “capitalism with a human face.”
By Kristina Aleksandrova
www.sptimes.ru