They do as they say. Where do they teach the real men’s trade in Kazakhstan?

Over 10 thousand resumes have been received by Hyundai car plant in 10 months. The domestic car industry picks up steam, “blue collars” join the numbers of machine-building professionals, the young get experience from the old and the HR department forms the mentorship culture.

In April 2019, in the Almaty’s industrial zone, the officials of Kazakhstan and South Korea buried a capsule in the foundation of the future Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan plant, a subsidiary of Astana Motors. The ceremony of the production start was held on 15 October 2020.

The project was implemented with support from the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Investment Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Almaty Akimat.

It took a year and a half to build on 25 hectares of new land a building with area of 34 thousand square meters with welding, body painting, car assembly, plastic part painting shops and components warehouse, outfit it with state-of-the-art South Korean equipment and form a team. The plant’s team grew from 10 to 350 people and today Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan keeps receiving applications from job seekers. Why do people in Kazakhstan have such increased interest in the new enterprise?

According to Natalya Marchenko, HR Manager of Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan, people come to the plant seeking stable income, social support and new opportunities for advance training offered by the company for the specialists. For some, making cars is a dream. And for the enterprise, the main asset is human resources.

– Natalya, what is your experience in HR?

– I started my career in HR 13 years ago at Astana Motors, and I worked most of them at a Hyundai dealership. I have worked at Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan plant since October 2019.

Production is a different scale and objectives, occupations that are new for me, and twice as much employees. And we keep growing, as it reaches the full capacity, the plant will have about 700 employees. I felt both curious and scared. I accepted the challenge and today I’m glad I made that decision. We have a strong, friendly team of professionals. There are many projects and long path of development ahead.

– What motivates you personally to remain a member of the Astana Motors family for many years?

– I’m very partial to what the company founder Nurlan Smagulov conveys as a person and a human about importance of respect for the employees. He generates ideas and inspires, energizes the team for new projects and demonstrates on own example that you should not be afraid of challenges or stop. We keep developing, evolving and facing new challenges, opportunities and areas for development in our company. It’s a never-ending drive.

It means a lot to me that for many years, on Automobilist Day, Nurlan Smagulov visits all dealerships of the company and personally congratulates best employees. By the way, the number of dealerships and other Astana Motors facilities is growing in different cities and even countries, the company is now operating in Uzbekistan. Starting this year, our calendar has one more professional holiday, the Machine Builder Day.

– How did you manage to form the plant’s team with deficit of engineers and technicians?

– Thanks to the department heads, they also played an important role for me. At first, it was not so easy for me to manage, considering the specifics of work occupations. The requirements for candidates, terms, wordings and abbreviations were new for me. We hired highly qualified professionals with education and experience in machine building. Together we started forming the team. My colleagues assisted me a lot in recruitment in the beginning. They were clarifying and explaining. So, by the time of the first mass recruitment, I had a good understanding of knowledge and skills each candidate should have and of equipment they will be working on. Today, more than 80 percent of our employees are people with higher and secondary professional education, and the average age is 33.

There are more than enough candidates but, unfortunately, not many specialists in this sector. Kazakhstan is at the start of its machine building development. In the global car industry, the specialists gain high qualifications that make them highly sought everywhere. We have taken up the mission and responsibility to form a school for training the professionals for our country.

– As they say, “Sounds terribly ambitious and that is just what we wanted”.

– Right, or, “Quite ambitious, but we aren’t afraid of challenges”.

– Which positions are popular at the plant, which are hard and who applies in search of a job or to find themselves?

– Top 5 of the most popular positions are head of light vehicle assembly shop, car assembly line fitter, quality control inspector, pickers and logistics specialists. In September, we held the second active recruitment for welding, painting and car assembly shops. Every position assumes responsibility.

Different people are applying, some for a certain position, while others don’t understand what job they want or could do, but know they want to make cars because it’s an interesting job, and work at Astana Motors is reliable, prestigious and promising.

There are no unique professions nowadays, and we need to recruit people from related sectors. For instance, some of our engineers are graduates from the civil aviation academy, and there are professionals with vast experience in car servicing.

We give preference to young generation of ambitious, committed people, aimed at high achievements. Our team includes those who have set the goal to develop, improve qualification and become a valuable master in their trade.

– An HR specialist is also a psychologist. Who are more interesting for you to work with: seasoned professionals or those who are only starting their career?

– It is interesting to work not only with different generations, but with each colleague. Young people quickly absorb new information and radiate energy, have powerful output and bring positive emotions. We help them grow and imbue them with corporate spirit and love for the company. Seasoned professionals share their experience, it is interesting to talk to them, learn something new about a work occupation; I broaden my outlook and learn more about technical equipment. By the way, out specialists have developed the technical processes for Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan plant themselves. Hyundai Motor Company from South Korea provided us with the exclusive equipment developed specifically for the new enterprise and our objectives, scale and production volume.

We get applications from interns from universities and colleges, young car fitters and mechanics. We are happy to see relatives working at the enterprise. For instance, a seventeen-year-old son of the plant employees had his internship here, he was so happy that he never parted with his new uniform, almost slept in it. It is interesting to see new traditions being formed, including sports. At weekends, our men play football. Currently, we are negotiating with a fitness studio.

It’s fascinating to observe cooperation, co-creation and intergenerational continuity. To improve the performance and implement our strategic production development plans, we need to raise a generation of professionals through training and mentorship system.

– There is space for co-creation in car manufacturing?

– At our plant, there is. For instance, I Am Innovator program. Colleagues are committed to efficiency and improving the work processes. I am talking not just about the management, but first of all, about the engineering personnel. Our priority is the high quality of cars and the time is valuable too. It is important that everything runs like clockwork because a plant is a single entity.

– Speaking of clocks, where every part of mechanism is essential. What is the loyalty rate at your plant?

– 98 percent. We have ensured stability for our employees. During the quarantine, when part of the team was working remotely, we continued paying salaries and did not cut a single staff position or put anyone on unpaid leave.

Once an employee came up to me and shared her joy: “For the first time in years, I have received my salary officially, on my bank card”. The colleagues are proud of working at a new modern enterprise that makes cars known all over the world.

In March, we were planning to send our specialists abroad for training. The course was postponed due to closure of borders during quarantine. Our plans include continuous further training of the employees in-house and abroad as well as creation of own training center.

– Do you also give free milk according to traditions at the plants?

– Both milk and free meals are planned for the nearest future. The plant will also have a full-time qualified medical assistant with solid experience. We have our own fire brigade.

– What’s it like for you to work in a predominantly male team?

– 70 percent of our employees are men and 30 percent are women. It’s easier to work in a predominantly male team thanks to their emotional stability, self-possession, decisiveness and responsibility. They do as they say.

– What are the most important required qualities for work at Hyundai Trans Kazakhstan plant?

– The portrait of our plant employee includes the following features: well-educated, honest, hard working, ambitious, loyal and open to new ideas. Someone who honors family, traditions, who will become the brand devotee and will respect the company’s history, and later will pass on their experience to the new generation.

Source: www.caravan.kz