If you want leading companies to invite you to work with them, you should study not only well, but with an emphasis on specific skills.
Photo – Chevron
The correspondent of DKNEWS.KZ discovered how to be the best in your business, and where, in addition to school, college and university, to obtain the required skills.
Today, for achieving success at work, a person should have not only professional knowledge and skills, but also possess the so-called “soft” skills, i.e. the readiness for change and ability to express own thoughts. It is important to competently communicate with other people, to present yourself and your vision, to be flexible. These skills are very relevant now and will become a good bonus in addition to the vocational or higher education diploma.
Where does one acquire these skills? First of all, in educational institutions. For example, in the leading universities of the country (Nazarbayev University, Satpayev University, KBTU, KIMEP), where at different times there were scholarship programs from Chevron and special trainings, related to the development of the skills of future specialists in the oil and gas sector.
Whatever one may speak of it, but the future belongs to the scientific and technical disciplines. Today, it is impossible to imagine our world without gadgets and electronic devices, and specialists with the appropriate training and knowledge are needed for their creation and repair. Yes, mining operations and the power sector today are also inconceivable without digital technologies.
For future specialists in the oil and gas production sector to quickly set into gear, they have to study the natural scientific disciplines at school and college in conjunction with information technologies, or as they are called abroad, STEM (“Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics”). Thanks to the joint efforts of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Chevron and the “Caravan of Knowledge” Organization, since last year trainings have been held in Kazakhstan for school teachers teaching natural sciences.
The Project of the “Caravan of Knowledge” Organization started with our support during the 2020 pandemic, when there were unlimited possibilities for attracting a large number of participants. Tens of thousands of teachers from all over Kazakhstan, students and parents participated in the trainings. “Caravan of Knowledge” has a lot of experience in promoting the STEM-education, and we know that the training program will soon be supplemented with other exact sciences and environmental education,” - said Zhanar Koshpanova, a public affairs coordinator at Chevron.
In addition to school, college and university, the young Kazakhstanis have an opportunity to participate in special projects, for example, in a summer STEM camp for girls at Maker Space or ITeach Me Project for the young people with disabilities.
The STEM camp for girls is in its 3rd year with Chevron’s support, and the first results are already visible: the participants of the debut season have won the Global Startup Competition, supported by Google, snatching the victory from teams from all over the world with their child safety software. The ITeach ME project allows children with disabilities from all over Kazakhstan, who have passed the competitive selection, to obtain important IT skills, create a specific software product, and find a good job in the future.
These projects are aimed, first of all, at the development of Kazakhstan's human capital. We are interested in the young people, teenagers, and children having the skills which will help them compete not only in the local market, but also overseas. Today, it is important to maintain innovative programs. In other words, we give the guys a fishing rod, and then they use the opportunities provided. Theoretically, the projects proposed on the educational sites, supported by us, can be used in different companies,” - explained Zhanar Koshpanova.
Apart from the participation in the human capital development programs, the young professionals can improve their skills at the workplace. For example, even before the start of the pandemic, Chevron actively conducted online advanced training courses in different directions for its employees.
One can read scientific journals, for example, “Oyla”, whose issues in Kazakh language Chevron has supported for the 4 years. Also, young people thirsty for knowledge can attend clubs on robotics, programming, design in Maker Space, organized in partnership with the US Embassy in Kazakhstan.
As we see, the young specialists have a lot of opportunities for self-development, given the will to learn and increase their professional and personal level.
Albert Akhmetov
