The project has been presented to the All-Russian Industrial Association of Coal Industry Employers and the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation.

“We have developed a general occupational standard that will be applied to coal companies, but also to Russian mineral, salt and sand mining companies,” comments Diana Shcherbakova, commissioner of the sectoral working group and head of the Kuzbassrazrezugol labour organisation department.

The coal companies that are part of the working group are in charge of formalising the standards of working methods, while Kuzbassrazrezugol develops the professional standards and the related explanatory notes.

Since September 2021, according to the order of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the first national occupational standard “Bulldozer Operator in Mines”, developed last year by the specialists of Kuzbassrazrezugol, has already come into force.

The drafts of two other national occupational standards “Excavator Operator in Mining” and “Technological Vehicle Operator” are currently under consideration by the National Council under the leadership of the President of Russia for Professional Qualifications. 

The development of professional standards for open-cast mining in Russia is one of the tasks given by the President of the Russian Federation after his meeting with the leaders of the country’s coal regions in August 2019. Kuzbassrazrezugol is leading the development of the documents, with methodological support for this work being provided by UMMC.