The Company's staff development, retraining and advanced vocational training are carried out according to the Regulation on Organization of Staff Development, Retraining and Advanced Vocational Training of Employees of JSC IDGC of the North-West, the Procedure for Work with Personnel of JSC IDGC of the North-West, the Program for Support and Development of Human Resources of JSC IDGC of the North-West for 2010-2014.

Training of managers and specialists according to the Regulation on Organization of Staff Development, Retraining and Advanced Vocational Training is carried out by topics that correspond to the business tasks and the Company's technical policy, according to the instructions of supervising authorities and is aimed at the increase of power supply system reliability, of operation level and of grid and substation equipment repair quality.

The Company's employees are trained in the following areas:

• advanced vocational training of managers, workers and specialists in the educational centers and in advanced vocational training institutions;
• managers' and specialists' participation in topical workshops;
• preparation of workers for new positions;
• workers' training in secondary profession (allied trade, as a rule);
• training of technical engineering personnel in the specialties of Rostekhnadzor and Russian bureau of motor vehicles;
• workers receiving higher and secondary vocational education.

A personnel training is carried out off-job in reputed educational institutions that have the necessary license and state accreditation:

• FSAEI FVE Petersburg Power Engineering Institute of Professional Development, Saint Petersburg;
• Institute of Professional Development of Public Administration, Moscow;
• Vologda State Technical University;
• Institute of Professional Development and Personnel Retraining of Ivanovo State Power Engineering University;
• Pomor State University named after М.V. Lomonosov, Arkhangelsk;
• Ukhta State Technical University;
• Syktyvkar State University.

Based on the results of previous years of collaboration with educational institutions the following criteria of selection of educational institutions were set: quality of educational process, availability and relevance of given material and learning and accommodation conditions. When contacting new educational institutions to which employees are sent for training, a questionnaire survey is carried out on the basis of the above criteria for the purpose of determination of further work perspectives.

In order to support interaction with educational institutions and to train specialists in the field of power industry, on the basis of Kolenergo branch, a branch of "Energy and Transport" department of the Murmansk State Technical University (MSTU) was created, whose work allowed to improve and optimize educational process for specialties 140211 "Energy Supply" and 140106 "Energy Supply to Enterprises" and to train specialists under programs adapted for the needs of the Company.

In order to fulfill an annual training program with reduction of training costs new methods and activities were applied:

• organization of training on the job, with onsite visits of instructors of educational institutions under contracts;
• expansion of technical training opportunities, inclusion of the most pressing issues in the curriculum;
• reduction of training terms due to the self-study and distance education;
• participation of managers and specialists of the Company in scientific and technical seminars, students' scientific and practical conferences related to the energy industry.

JSC IDGC of the North-West applies different methods of work aimed at strengthening and development of the Company's human resources. One of the most important methods is the work with the personnel reserve. The personnel reserve is a specially formed group of qualified and perspective managers and specialists possessing necessary for promotion professional skills and managerial qualities as well as potential to development and positively recommended themselves in the occupied positions.

JSC IDGC of the North-West maintains the reserve of managerial human resources and the reserve of young specialists. The reserve of managerial human resources in JSC IDGC of the North-West was created for:

• operative staff recruitment for vacated and newly introducing positions by trained managers;
• creation of conditions for promotion of the most competent and trained employees to the superior positions;
• training of employees for temporary substitution of managers for the period of their absence;
• increase of the employees' motivation to professional and career growth and to development of their managerial competences;
• providing succession and transfer of managerial experience from the company's managers to less experienced employees;
• prevention of mistakes, hastiness, subjectivity in the formation of the management team.

Activities of the managerial personnel reserve is regulated by the Provision on Work with Personnel Reserve for Promotion to Managerial Positions in JSC IDGC of the North-West, in compliance with which the personnel reserve in the Company (executive apparatus, branches, production subdivisions) is created for the following positions:

• management positions by the area of activity;
• managers and deputies of structural divisions;
• managers of sectors, production laboratories;
• senior foremen, foremen and civil defense executives.

In selection of candidates for the managerial human resources reserve the following criteria were considered:

• professional knowledge and experience;
• professional efficiency;
• business and personal traits.

In order to evaluate the level of development of professionally important characteristics of candidates and formation of recommendations for development of professional and managerial competences, employees of the services of psycho-physiological reliability of personnel carried out diagnostics of personal and business traits of reservists and individual development potential.

As of the end of 2012, the Company's managerial reserve included 1,410 people.

The Regulation on Personnel Reserve of Young Specialists of JSC IDGC of the North-West and external personnel reserve was approved by the Order of JSC IDGC of the North-West. The goal of creation of the reserve of young specialists is to increase the efficiency of management of the Company and its structural subdivisions on the basis of creation of opportunities for professional development and career growth of young specialists of the Company, provision of the Company with highly qualified and productive specialists and managers.

In order to define a competence development level of candidates to the reserve of young specialists and to form recommendations for future reservists on preferable ways to develop competencies and selection of educational programs, the following evaluation actions included in the assessment process were taken:

• expert assessment of documents (questionnaires, education documents, supervisor's references, etc.);
• psychological testing;
• business games.

The reserve of young specialists of the Company includes 183 of the most perspective young specialists of the Company working in the executive apparatus of the Company and its branches.

In 2012 reservists were sent for training under qualification upgrade programs and participation in trainings and seminars on topic relevant to the Company.

The most qualified teachers from leading educational institutions of the region (International Institute of Business Education (Murmansk), Center of Continuous Training of Managers MMK International (Saint Petersburg)) were invited to conduct the trainings.

In 2012 11 young specialists from the reserve of young specialists (6%) were promoted to superior positions.