NWPC held a professional skills competition

NWPC (a member of Acron Group) held its third professional skills competition with the participation of twelve electric and gas welders.

The competition consisted of two parts: theoretical and practical. In the theoretical part the contestants answered questions and in the practical part they had to make a butt weld by manual arc welding following the welding process flow chart. The quality of the work was assessed according to the GOST state standard using measuring equipment. The main performance criteria were time spent and compliance with industrial safety rules.

The competition resulted in four winners with the highest score. Valentin Martov, an electric and gas welder at the Underground Mining Section No. 5, came in third. Second place went to Alexander Makarov, an electric and gas welder at the Heating, Water Supply and Sewerage Department of the Chief Power Engineer Department. The first place was shared by two winners: Nikolay Kolesnichenko, an electric and gas welder at the Underground Mine No. 4, and Maxim Sharikov, an electric and gas welder at the Auxiliary Repairs Section of the Chief Mechanic’s Department.

As an encouragement, the jury decided to award an additional nomination, Golden Hands, which was won by Andrey Frey, an electric and gas welder in the Auxiliary Shaft Sinking Mining Department. All participants received diplomas and memorable gifts from the Company.

Irina Molchanova, Deputy General Director for Human Resources, welcomed the participants: ‘Professional skills competitions are held to raise the prestige of professions, to identify and encourage employees with outstanding professional knowledge and skills. More and more of our employees respond to each competition. This shows that our employees’ skills are improving. In 2025, we plan to organise a competition for repairers’.