OREANDA-NEWS. On 28 July 2009 was announced, that twenty-five employees of Uralkali (Berezniki, Perm Territory) were awarded Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees by Moscow-based Sinerghia Institute of Economics and Finance.

This is the second class of graduates to have gone through Uralkali’s MBA corporate program, which has been implemented by the company since 2005 and is aimed at preparing future managers for Uralkali’s key positions. The first class graduated in 2007, when twenty-five top and middle managers from Uralkali received MBA degrees. The graduates include executives and employees of Uralkali’s mines, plants, directorates, and departments. The company has invested a total of over 11.3 million rubles into implementing its MBA corporate program since it was launched.

The training combined full-time and distance-learning courses based at Uralkali’s office in Berezniki. The dissertations covered issues directly linked to meeting the company's objectives. The qualification commission were impressed by the dissertations and emphasized their practical value; some of the graduation projects have already been launched, while others are to be implemented in the near future.

Elena Samsonova, HR Director, Uralkali:

“The company is interested in its most promising employees not only improving their managerial skills but also gaining an understanding of business, economics, and finance. Unlike a higher professional education, which prepares experts in specific fields, the MBA program offers an integrated approach to business and provides, thorough academic training, the vital ingredients for the success of any contemporary executive.”