On 26 September, a defence industry job fair was held for students of the National Technical University of Ukraine ‘Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute’.
The event was organised by the Ministry of Strategic Industries and the university. The event was attended by Minister for Strategic Industries Herman Smetanin, Deputy Minister Anna Hvozdyar, and KPI Rector Anatoliy Melnychenko.
The event was organised to introduce students to the defence industry as an employer in general and to showcase specific areas in particular. In the long run, the event is aimed at employing students and graduates at Ukrainian defence companies.
‘Today, working in the defence industry is one of the most promising jobs on the labour market. We are rapidly modernising, reforming and implementing best practices. We have an active partnership with world leaders in arms production. And most importantly, we are bringing the Victory closer with our work,’ said German Smetanin.
Representatives of nine state-owned and private defence companies were invited to participate. They represented various areas of the industry: electronic warfare and communications equipment, UAVs, ground robotic systems, humanitarian demining equipment and military equipment repair.
Each of the manufacturers presented their company to the students: they told them what kind of employees they were looking for, what opportunities they offered and what forms of cooperation they were ready for. Each company also had its own location with information materials, and students approached them and communicated directly, exchanged contacts, agreed on cooperation, and so on.
‘The Ministry works daily not only with manufacturers but also with educational institutions, because they are the future of Ukrainian defence. These are future personnel, a scientific approach to production tasks. We need gunsmiths: engineers, programmers, designers. We need inventors. We need young minds, ingenuity, flexibility. We need new ideas and visions, which we expect from the new generation,’ said Anna Hvozdyar.
The event was attended by about 1,000 students. Teachers also expressed interest in working with defence companies, and agreed with several companies to hold lectures and other forms of cooperation.
‘The key to Ukraine's victory is an alloy of high-quality human capital, high-tech technologies and patriotism. All of this is characteristic of the modern KPI, which is the basis for the interaction of students and teachers of the university with defence industry enterprises,’ said Anatoliy Melnychenko.
‘I remember myself as a student. I had a lot of theoretical knowledge, but only at the enterprise could I gain practical knowledge. It is the skilful combination of theory and practice and the desire to be the best in everything that is the first step to success.
Today, working in the defence industry is cool and promising. We are rapidly modernising, reforming and implementing best practices. Our salaries are not bad at all. We have an active partnership with world leaders in arms production. And most importantly, we are bringing the Victory closer with our work,’ said German Smetanin.