To attract and retain: why youth choose TAIF-NK

To dive into the working atmosphere

TAIF-NK JSC is a shining example of how one should work with the youth and raise the prestige of skilled jobs. A multi-faceted social policy, support for the company’s young specialists who are offered adaptation events to the working conditions, creation of conditions for professional growth and the greatest possible realisation of creative potential as well as close cooperation with relevant educational institutions to pick would-be workers during their studies can be included here.

A Doors Open Day took place in the enterprise just recently. Students of the Lemayev College of Petrochemistry and Oil Refining could get acquainted with production capacities, learn the nuances of the operation of a unit talk with top specialists. This college is considered a talent pool for the oil refining sector. Third year students — future oil and gas refiners — visited the enterprise.

“These are very responsible lads. Children whose entry score is more than 4,8 study Oil and Gas Refining. They are almost A students. This excursion will be very useful for them. Students can know the enterprise better, learn what job they will have to do in the future. They all came, they have been waiting for this excursion very much. Many thanks to the management of the company for the invitation,” Dinara Shaylina, head of the Practical Training Departments of the Lemayev College said with inspiration.

The lads admitted to Realnoe Vremya’s correspondent too that they wanted to see the factory inside for a very long time.

“I have heard many good reviews of TAIF-NK. My relatives work here. I have never been in the factory. We haven’t had on-the-job training yet. I wanted to know how everything is arranged here a long time ago,” says Danil Salakhov.

The visit to TAIF-NK JSC for students started with the company’s main office. Here the lads did a mandatory process safety briefing and received special clothes and personal protective equipment. This allows the future oil refiners to fully dive into the working atmosphere.

Putting a signature in the occupation safety and health log, the third-year students went upstairs to the assembly hall. Here the lads were shown an introduction video about the enterprise’s activity.

Thanks to the video the youngsters made sure that TAIF-NK JSC is a leading oil refining company in Russia in the recovery of light oil products from crude oil and gas as well as the technological sophistication of the complex of units. In technological efficacy of oil refining the company is a leader not only in Russia but also around the world.

The complex consists of three interlinked factories:

• an oil refinery with an installed capacity of 7,3 million tonnes of feedstock a year;
• Petrol Plant that includes a unit to make petrol based on catalytic cracking with an installed capacity of a million tonnes of feedstock a year and a gas condensate refining unit with an installed capacity of a million tonnes a year;
• the Heavy Oil Residues High Conversion Facility with an installed capacity of 3,6 million tonnes in tar and vacuum gas oil

The company makes over 50 products, including feedstock for chemistry and petrochemistry, Euro 5 international eco-friendly motor fuel, diesel fuel, jet fuel, bitumen, PBB, kerosene and so on. Samples of products manufactured by TAIF-NK JSC the students were very interested in were presented here too. One could take glass jars into their hands and take a closer look at every name of the product.

Head of the Technological Reequipment and Future Development of TAIF-NK JSC Ravil Abdrakhmanov answered the students’ all concerning questions in detail. He informally told them not only about the modernisation of production, environmental and social programmes but also illustrated the whole chain of oil refining putting an example of motor fuel.

About Petrol Plant’s history and activity first-hand

The excursion continued with the familiarisation of the oil refinery’s plants. The lads were shown the second part of Petrol Plant, told about how its effective and safe operation was organised. Director of Shop No. 04 Damir Sibgatov accompanied the college students. He told them that the gas condensate refining unit started to be built at TAIF JSC in May 2005. The design documentation was elaborated by Samaraneftekhimproject institute. A high construction pace allowed opening it a year later. The first product was obtained in July 2006.

“The second factory of Petrol Plant includes a gas condensate processing unit with a capacity of a million tonnes a year, a double-service gallery rack with a weighbridge, an automatic filling station and amenities with a compounding hub and a fleet of commercial petrol. Most assembled and utilised equipment is of Russian origin,” Damir Sibgatov started his story.

He also stressed that gas condensate was supplied by train. Diesel fraction, motor fuel, straight-run petrol pumped out to Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC via a pipeline to increase the ethylene production capacity, kerosene fraction and mazut (feedstock for catalytic cracking) are key types of products. He singled out the purpose of production units.

“This unit is designed to refine gas condensate that arrives here in cisterns by train. The shop consists of an electric dehydration block, feedstock heating block and fractioning block,” he specified.

An operator’s room became the next stop on the route where special attention was paid to the use of modern digital technologies and automation all technological process of the factory are provided with. During the excursion, the students were interested not as in the production as much in the salary, social guarantees, prospects of career development for young workers of the company. The college students were assured that if there is necessary knowledge and experience, professional interest, promptness, responsibility, determination and, of course, a will, every worker can go up the career ladder.

Damir Sibgatov put his own example. He joined TAIF-NK JSC in 2010 as a fourth-year student. He started his career as fourth-category operator. In 2014, he became a shift foreman, in 2015 he was appointed as head of the hydrotreatment unit, worked on this post until 2020 and then was promoted as shop foreman.

And the company has many examples of this kind, including in the management. In general TAIF-NK JSC can be certainly called a young staff. The number of working youth under 35 in the first half of 2022 is 39,7%. There are a lot of managers among them. About 4,000 top specialists work in the company in general.

The enterprise believes that a constant inflow of fresh professional staff is one of the necessary conditions for the sector’s further development.

“TAIF-NK is a socially oriented enterprise. A multi-faceted policy was developed here, there were created possibilities for career development and decent salaries stimulating personal development and aspiration for the common success. The company develops the internal educational environment to train its employees,” head of the Technical Training Group of TAIF-NK JSC Anton Tukhvatullin told the students.

The lads learnt that an extended package of social guarantees including not only guarantees envisaged by labour legislation but also additional payouts developed by the company’s local acts are one of the support measures for the enterprise’s workers. It is holiday payouts, social mortgage costs, financial assistance in different circumstances, rewards on jubilees and holidays, financial assistance for pensioners and so on. Also, TAIF-NK invests considerable money to improve its employees’ health.

The company pays special attention to the employment of young specialists. There is a mentorship system so that a budding employee can painlessly join the staff. An experienced worker takes a beginner under his or her wing, familiarises the worker with the enterprise, corporate culture and manufacturing processes.

The young workers of TAIF-NK can realise their creative potential, improve the professional mastery in Best in Profession contests. They are held both inside the enterprise and in the Lemayev College of Petrochemistry and Oil Refining. By the way, students too can participate there. Such events hone professional skills, make skilled jobs more popular.

“Every person dreams of having a favourite job in life”

The excursion to the second plant of TAIF-NK JSC lasted for about an hour and a half. During this time, students looked over an automatic service rack and amenities with the compounding hub and a fleet of commercial petrol types. They asked a lot of questions about the quality of produced petrol, sold products. The dialogue turned out to be lively and interesting.

“When I finished year nine, I needed to choose my future profession. Without thinking for a long time I decided to dedicate my life to oil production and oil refining. I think this profession has a bright future,” said Alexey Lazarev.

He also stressed that he was happy with what he saw that day. The excursion to the plants of TAIF-NK JSC lived up with all the expectations.

“I like what processes happen in the units, how petrol, diesel fuel, kerosene are made. The employees of the enterprise how clearly everything was explained. We also visited the operator’s room, saw what equipment operators do. I hope I will return here as a worker of the company,” Alexey said.

His classmate Adelya Khamidullina shared her emotions of the excursion too. The girl is from Kamskye Polyany. She graduated from a school in the settlement and started to study Oil and Gas Refining with the state-funded tuition.

“Every person dreams of having a favourite job in life bringing joy, benefit to other people and that is well paid. The possibility of employment after the graduation from the college is also important when choosing the profession,” she noted and added that she considered TAIF-NK JSC as one of the future employers.

Danil Salakhov also dreams about joining TAIF-NK JSC after he graduates from the college:

“Why do I want to work here? Because there is a stable salary, a social package here. It is prestigious to work here. I am proud of studying in the college of petrochemistry and oil refining. This year we will have on-the-job training, I will do my best to be noticed and invited to work here.”

“The company isn’t limited to standard interaction instruments only”

It should be noted that TAIF-NK JSC doesn’t limit itself to excursion only. The enterprise closely cooperates with educational institutions of the city where future specialists are trained. The Lemayev College of Petrochemistry and Oil Refining is the main place where young workers of the enterprise in leading professions are trained. About 700 freshmen crossed its threshold in the new academic year. 2,000 students from different districts of Tatarstan as well as Moscow Oblast, Chelyabinsk and Tyumen study here.

According to Director of the Lemayev College Aydar Faretdinov, the history of cooperation between the college of petrochemistry and oil refining and TAIF-NK JSC started on the company’s foundation day. He noted that the enterprise starts picking up staff long before their employment.

“TAIF-NK doesn’t wait for the graduate to come to work. The enterprise starts monitoring students from the third year. The enterprise knows how the lads study because they participate in exams and perfectly understand what specialist joins them. A student is individually accompanied,” says Director of the Lemayev College Aydar Faretdinov. The organisation of on-the-job practice is one of the areas of work with the youth in the enterprise. This allows college students to quickly and effectively bring theoretical knowledge with the performance of specific production tasks. Such practice creates a favourable environment for young specialists allowing them to adapt to the conditions of real production beforehand.”

“Our cooperation is not only in the staff training for the enterprise, it is built on the staff’s further development, retraining and qualification upgrade. This work is systematic. The company doesn’t limit itself to standard interaction instruments only but looks ahead,” notes Aydar Faretdinov.

TAIF-NK JSC organises a unique practice for the college students in the factory within dual education. The educational institution elaborates dedicated training programmes.

“Dual education is such a type of education where the theoretical training is done in the educational institution and the practical one is in the workplace. Students, in turn, do practice without interruption from studies. These lads are very responsible about on-the-job practice, their workplace,” says Aydar Faretdinov.

Graduates of the college of petrochemistry and oil refining do on-the-job training at TAIF-NK JSC by signing a labour agreement, receive a salary on a par with the enterprise’s employees. Last year, 23 students took advantage of this opportunity. It is operators, electricians, chemical analysis laboratory workers and instrumentation technicians.

“The dual educational system is promising for both us and students. After their graduation we get a ready specialist who doesn’t need adaptation. The graduate shouldn’t worry about the future employment. They already have a workplace and received a real salary,” notes Anton Tukhvatullin.

The educational process continues in the enterprise too, here workers can upgrade their qualification or obtain a new profession. Thanks to the multi-faceted staff policy, careful attitude to experienced employees, young specialists, TAIF-NK JSC are in the top employers among Nizhnekamsk’s backbone enterprises where graduates willingly send CVs out. However, only the best of the best can become part of the high-qualified team of single-minded people looking into the future and ready to do the most complicated innovative tasks.