Social challenge and reasons for project’s initiation

Immediacy of the social problem

Almost all the industries face the shortage of skilled personnel these days. Russia is currently reforming its system of vocational education, yet the reform does not solve the problem. Therefore, the companies modernizing their production lines have to find and train their future wokers themselves. Skilled professionals are the company’s biggest asset. Technical complexity of modern equipment requires that basic training starts in high school. This is why PhosAgro Group came up with an initiative in 2013 to create special PhosAgro classes.

External reasons for project’s initiation

The PhosAgro Classes project was prompted by a sociological study, which showed that 85% of the personnel the Company needed was in the blue-collar professions, with each production site requiring at least 500 skilled workers. At the same time, most students graduating from high school prefer to major in humanities. After consultations with the local authorities (town halls and education boards) in all the towns where the Company operates, a decision was made to open special classes in all of these places (Kirovsk, Apatity, Balakovo, Cherepovets and Volkhov).

By the time PhosAgro classes were transformed into the PhosAgro School, the number of applicants had grown significantly. It was no longer just high school students of Grades 8 and 9 but also students in other educational institutions.

Internal reasons for project’s initiation

The PhosAgro School evolved from the PhosAgro Classes project launched in 2013. In 2018, six educational institutions located in the towns where the Company operates became participants in the PhosAgro School. The goal of the project is to help the Company acquire skilled and motivated specialists and improve its brand recognition and loyalty among school students, teachers and parents. 

Coverage

• Murmansk Oblast,
• Leningrad Oblast,
• Volgograd Oblast,
• Saratov Oblast

Project description

The PhosAgro School is an extension of the PhosAgro Classes project, offering career guidance and stimulating students to pursue in-depth study of science classes: math, IT, physics and chemistry. The project seeks to produce elite engineers and supply the Company with well-educated, well-trained and motivated recruits. The program covers not only high school students but starts from the first grade.

In elementary school, additional classes are provided to students to stimulate their curiosity. For Grades 5-8, there is soft professional profiling: in-depth classes on physics, chemistry and math. The ninth grade provides advanced classes on math, physics, chemistry, IT and preparation courses for the standardized test. Grades 10 and 11 have interdisciplinary extra classes, preparation courses for the standardized exam, and can join the PhosAgro Summer School or the PhosAgro Engineering School.

After every six months, the following prizes are given out to PhosAgro Classes students:

• The Best Student of the Year Award (an annual award for the student who ranks first in their class)
• A Letter of Merit from the PhosAgro CEO (an annual award for the students who rank second and third in their class)
• A Letter of Merit from the school principal (a semiannual award for two top students in each PhosAgro class)
• Prizes (the top-ranked students in every school receive gift certificates twice a year: three 20,000 ruble certificates and two 15,000 ruble certificates)
• The photographs of the top students are displayed on their school’s Board of Honor.

Teachers are offered advanced training programs.

Parents are asked to fill out feedback forms twice a year.

Also, parents are offered tours of the Company’s facilities, self-help courses (“Preparing you kid for exams,” “How to Organize Your Time,” etc.) and tours of the colleges their children go to.

“Being a PhosAgro student is a special responsibility and a great chance to try out a number of various professions that the company needs. We all saw how our school got transformed once it started working together with PhosAgro. Thanks to PhosAgro, all grades now have a nice canteen and well-equipped classrooms.” Maria Notina, student at Balakovo School No. 25

Teachers participating in PhosAgro Classes are rewarded as well – based on the time they spend in the program or once they achieve certain benchmarks as verified by a special commission.

Company employees participate in the project by organizing tours of the Company’s museum and production sites. Special events are organized for students where they can meet with PhosAgro executives, the Company’s leading engineers and specialists, as well as the local public officials.

Support projects

The Company organizes corporate contests for students of PhosAgro classes on priority subjects, collects feedback from students, teachers and parents and interacts with universities around Russia.

The annual PhosAgro Classes festival is one of the biggest events each year. In 2018, the festival took place at the Sirius Center in Sochi. The festival promotes team building and leadership skills and helps children choose their career path. The last festival was attended by 140 tenth grade students.

“Currently, I’m in my junior year in college, under a special program provided by PhosAgro, and I intern at their Cherepovets plant. Once I graduate, I will work at the company as a thermal engineer. The PhosAgro festival is a very special event for me. I have become its curator. I really envy these guys. I know they will be smiling ear to ear for a whole month once the festival is over. Plus, it really stimulates you to study hard.”[1] Vladislav Martyushev, PhosAgro Class curator

The festival has a very busy schedule: educational and developmental quests, master classes, a lecture on green chemistry by a Chemical Technology University professor, and lots of sightseeing. Students participated in a contest where they were asked to shoot a video called “A Day at PhosAgro.”

The PhosAgro Summer School lasts ten days. It is intended for Grades 8 and 9. Students visit production sites and attend classes on natural sciences. They have a lot of opportunities to communicate: training sessions, round table discussions, meetings with PhosAgro employees and college students, consultations with teachers, and lots of athletic events.

The projects emphasizes cultural, ethical, patriotic and athletic aspects of personal development. Students are offered numerous opportunities for cultural and personal growth: field trips, visits to factory churches, exhibitions at the Green Planet center, competitions, social programs, patriotic talks.

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^[1] https://www.saratov.kp.ru/daily/26968.4/4022826/

Team and partners 

Team

• Yekaterina Pudova, Training and Development, JSC Apatit, PhosAGro Group
• School administrations in Apatity, Kirovsk, Volkhov, Cherepovets and Balakovo

A total of about 7,000 people are involved in implementing the project.

Partners

• Government: governors and education ministries in the provinces
• Universities and colleges: Arctic University in Murmansk, Saint Petersburg Mining Univeristy, etc.
• Media
• NGOs, youth associations (Drozd, etc.)

“PhosAgro educational projects are an example of the dual education model that we are developing in our province. We believe that our education system should produce specialists who will be in demand on the labor market. Such a model benefits everybody – graduates, employers and the province as a whole, making us confident about our future.”[1] Murmansk Governor Andrei Chibis

PhosAgro cooperates with the government in implementing the program. This includes governors and local education boards. Town halls get involved to coordinate events for PhosAgro Classes students. Education boards approve the curriculum, study plans, etc. Sports and youth administrations help organize athletic and cultural events for students.

The Company also works closely with the local media to provide publicity for PhosAgro Classes.

The project has close ties with universities (lectures by faculty members for PhosAgro Class students, campus tours, introduction to technology departments, meetings with math and physics professors at Saint Petersburg Mining University, practical lab sessions at Petrozavodsk University Kola, science projects).

Youth organizations help organize events for PhosAgro students. Cultural centers, community centers and museums provide rooms for events and help organize them.

The PhosAgro School project is fully integrated with the Company’s other projects (like Young Talents). PhosAgro employees and college students often help the project as volunteers.

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^[1] https://news.rambler.ru/education/42822923/

Resources

Financial resources

The PhosAgro School budget over the years amounted to over 400 million rubles. Out of this amount, over 250 million rubles was spent on renovation and equipment of school buildings. The 2016 budget was 19.4 million rubles; the 2018 budget, 60.6 million rubles, including 20.768 million spent on renovation. During the initial stage, the Company donated over 35 million rubles to purchase some furniture and equipment for schools.

Technological and material resources

For every PhosAgro student, the Company purchases corporate school uniform and a tablet. Classrooms are equipped with interactive whiteboards and multimedia systems, computers and lab equipment.

Schools are provided with funds for renovation. Since 2013, classrooms for physics, chemistry, math and IT have been supplied with modern equipment: interactive whiteboards integrated with projectors, computer systems, equipment for educational and scientific teleconferences.

Achieved results

Immediate results

Table	2015	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
The percentage of PhosAgro Class graduates who enrolled in universities and major in technology	51%	56%	72%
The number of PhosAgro Class graduates working for PhosAgro Group				9	27	40
The number of school students prepared for college under the PhosAgro Class program		125	122

Social results

As a result of the Project, students developed a positive attitude toward technological professions. Through advanced placement programs with universities, the number of high school graduates enrolling in technological universities has increased (compared to September 2016). The professional level of school teachers in relevant subjects (chemistry, physics, mathematics) keeps steadily growing. Russia’s best methodologists and teachers conduct seminars and master classes, helping students prepare for subject-specific contests. Research shows that parents more and more adopt a positive attitude to their children choosing technological professions and later on working for PhosAgro Group. The project and the Company in general have improved their brand awareness at all levels – local, regional and national. The top 19 PhosAgro Class graduates joined PhosAgro Group in 2019 after graduating from college. PhosAgro Classes was nominated as one of top three projects for students at a national contest.

The number of applicants for the PhosAgro Class program keeps growing year after year. The students are highly motivated to pursue a career in this field. Their goal is to get a good education and make a career.

Internal project assessment

Every year, the Company reviews the results of PhosAgro Classes and makes necessary adjustments to the project’s by-laws and program. Feedback from the key stakeholders is collected every six months at the meeting of the Company’s board.

The Company regularly monitors the project, evaluating its efficiency. PhosAgro students receive awards for good academic performance. The ranking system takes into account school grades and participation in research projects, contests and program events.

Evaluation is performed on several levels:

• By beneficiaries – through feedback forms, questionnaires, meetings with project coordinators and company executives
• By project manager – by reviewing performance at the end of a reporting period through meetings with participants, public hearings and interviews
• By Company executives – annual board meetings decide whether to extend the project for another year and if it is necessary to make any adjustments

Evaluation relies on both qualitative (impact) and quantitative (number of participants) criteria.

The criteria are listed in project documents, questionnaires, feedback forms, and report forms.

Evaluation criteria include the following:

• The ratio between the admitted students and the overall number of applicants (only fully eligible applicants are included in the count)
• The number of PhosAgro Class graduates majoring in technological fields
• The average academic score of PhosAgro students
• The increase in popularity of STEM disciplines among students
• The number of college graduates working in the field they majored in (used since 2020)
• The percentage of PhosAgro students who have won subject-specific inter-school contests

External project assessment

The most extensive external evaluation of the project was performed by professional experts in 2016, when the Company reviewed all of its charitable activities. Professional experts recommended making some changes to Company regulations, projects and programs, reporting forms and the website for social investment. In 2018, external professional experts performed a number of studies, and currently project leaders are preparing reports based on their reviews.

Project’s distinctive features and know – how

• Comprehensive support for project participants throughout the education process
• Getting Company employees involved in the project (tours at the company museum and production facilities). To make educational programs as practical as possible, Company specialists participate in preparing advanced classes on STEM disciplines.
• Students meet with PhosAgro executives, leading engineers and specialists, as well as local authorities.
• Students participate in educational quests, inter-school contests, festivals, quiz shows using modern digital solutions.
• Rewards for the best PhosAgro students and teachers

Challenges and solutions

Currently, the team is working on a few problems:

• Some production sites are far from the towns where PhosAgro Schools are located
• Not all companies in PhosAgro Group have interactive educational centers which can be used for tours, lectures, study sessions, quests and master classes
• The number of applicants keeps growing whereas limited resources and systemic limitations make it impossible to enrol everybody

Plans of further development   

The PhosAgro School project keeps evolving. We have a number of things planned, including the following:

1. Participation in the Lessons of the Present project, implemented jointly with the Sirius Center. All six PhosAgro schools are expected to study the lectures and materials provided by Sirius partners and engage in practical projects between September 2019 and April 2020 (eight courses with practical projects by Yandex, Rosseti, Roscosmos, RusHydro, Kamaz and other companies).
2. Top PhosAgro students will join the Great Challenges program by Sirius – a three-week camp where they will work on a real industrial project provided by a corporate partner.
3. Each of the six PhosAgro schools will create a media center, which will include a small company museum. The centers will be used for open classes, discussions, lectures by Company employees and tours. They will also aggregate news about the school, the town and the region.