The Road Initiatives Forum hosted the session "Path to Success: Leaders' Experience". It was attended by Grigory Volkov, Deputy Director of the Construction Department of the Government of the Russian Federation, Konstantin Pashkov, First Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Petushenko, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Highways State Company, Vyacheslav Bauer, Deputy Head of the municipal formation of the resort city of Sochi, as well as heads of specialized government structures and large companies, innovative start-ups, and design institutes.
The event was attended by 35 students from MADI, RUT MIIT, RANEPA, SibADI, Russian Highways Class, as well as students from Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Kherson and Zaporozhye Oblasts. The session was also attended by 42 students of 9-10 grades of SIRIUS Multidisciplinary Gymnasium and 17 students of the Faculty of Innovation, Engineering and Digital Technologies of Sochi State University.
At present, the profession in the transport complex includes dozens of diverse areas, and the road construction industry is experiencing a real technological and digital revolution. And it is an undeniable fact that today the participation of employers in shaping the professional trajectory of schoolchildren and increasing their motivation to study is extremely high. In this regard, key figures of the transport sector spoke about their career paths and professional development during a career guidance session.
The attendees listened with great interest to the significant professional challenges faced by the transport sector executives and discussed the prospects opening up for young specialists in the era of artificial intelligence and digitalization.
Construction is probably the best time I've ever had. I'm happy that I didn't go straight into engineering, but came to construction after university. It's very interesting, and it was the time when you don't even want to go on vacation, and your colleagues become your friends. Let me explain how my rapid professional growth happened. After the institute, all my colleagues hid that they knew how to work with a leveler. And I had to wait for several hours for such a specialist who could set the points so that we could work further. I realized that this is a void that needs to be filled - the work is at a standstill, yet the best part of the job is looking back at the end of the day and seeing how much you have accomplished. I honestly went to management, passed a difficult exam to our surveyor, and was allowed to set the points myself. So a little secret of success is to do a little more than your colleagues do and fill the voids that appear in your life," said Grigory Volkov.
Schoolchildren and students had many questions for the speakers during the session. The children were interested in a variety of topics - from the impact of climatic conditions on the design and construction of roadbeds to specializations in the transport industry, which may become irrelevant in the near future. The younger generation was also interested in modern materials and technologies to increase the time between repairs, and the question was also raised about which large Russian companies can and should be invested in today.
The diversity of the speakers' professional experience made the discussion especially valuable. Historically, many specialists in the transportation industry came to the industry not always with a specialized education, but, importantly, always with a desire to develop. This interdisciplinary approach makes the transportation industry more flexible, mobile and open to new solutions.
"In order to develop a career trajectory, you need to work 24 hours a day, be focused on the tasks set by the management, and, as cliché as it may sound, constantly learn. Because without constant professional development, without studying your work from the inside, without regular communication with foreign colleagues, without being on the cutting edge, of course, there can be no proper growth. And I also want to say that it is not necessary to reach some high positions at all. I sincerely envy people of practical labor, it seems to me that we should be grateful to those who lay asphalt, who control traffic on highways. If you think about it, it is these people who create and make our transportation system work, so being a road foreman is the highest post a road engineer can dream of," Konstantin Pashkov noted.
Today, among leaders and experts one can find people with medical, military, economic or pedagogical education - and this is not a limitation, but, on the contrary, an advantage. The event has become a unique platform for sharing experience and inspiring the younger generation.
"It is better to start a career by working "in the field", in boots. Such practical experience gained in the early years lays the foundation for further professional growth. Knowledge of the subject in practice makes it easier to make decisions and manage processes at higher positions.
The modern road industry is not just about construction. It includes fundraising, building financial models, legal support, IT solutions (e.g. payment systems), incident management and developing loyalty programs. This creates demand for a wide range of specialists, from financiers and lawyers to IT specialists and marketers," summarized Vyacheslav Petushenko.
