FAQ

1. Each year you run the Young Talent programme. Who is it addressed to? What is it about?

In the first two editions, the Young Talent programme was addressed to the best students finishing their education and graduates of technical and economic studies who were willing to obtain knowledge in various fields and are able to communicate and cooperate with people representing different cultures at top management levels. Perfect candidates were motivated, energetic and dynamic individuals with fluent English who were available to work full time and ready to move abroad. The knowledge of the Spanish language was an additional asset. A two-year programme consisted of four half-year rotations in the areas of company's operation in Poland and abroad. In 2014, the Young Talent programme became an in-house development programme for the employees working for KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. for two to five years. The purpose of the programme is to develop the competence of a selected group of employees with a high potential in various areas of company's operation. The programme enables the participating employees to obtain a holistic perspective on the company's operations and to establish interesting contacts in other organisational units. Additionally, it supports the change of business culture in KGHM consisting in a broader information exchange, competence development, enhanced flexibility of operations, increased motivation and overcoming cultural barriers. Starting with the 3rd edition, the Young Talent programme takes one year and consists of three rotations in various areas of KGHM's operation. During the rotations, employees work full time. They perform specific individual tasks and carry out an interesting project as a group. During the programme, participants enjoy dedicated training sessions and mentoring.

2. How many people have been recruited owing to the programme and for what positions?

The first two editions of the Young Talent programme involved 28 students. During the programme, these individuals were employed subject to an employment contract. Nearly half of them, the graduates of the first edition, are already employed in KGHM in Poland and abroad. They now work as specialists and managers dealing with investor relations, project management, controlling, strategic analyses, mining or accountancy. Three graduates of the programme work in Chile on our flagship Sierra Gorda project. Others, participants of the second edition, are gradually being employed in company branches at responsible posts that are in line with their field of specialisation.

3. Do you encounter problems with finding good workers in your industry? Are there any posts that are in fact more difficult to fill – perhaps engineering posts?

KGHM is perceived both by workers and by job applicants as an attractive employer that offers a friendly, international work environment, broad development opportunities and an appealing incentive package. Owing to that we have no problems with finding appropriate candidates for jobs in our company.

4. You operate in many countries all over the world. How would you describe Poles working for this industry abroad? Is there anything that makes us stand out against the background of other countries?

Operating on four continents, KGHM employs people from many different countries. The largest group among them are Polish nationals. Poles working for KGHM abroad have a very good reputation. They are perceived as meticulous, responsible and reliable workers. Moreover, Poles are brilliant managers and specialists in their fields, who are eager on the one hand to learn from others, and on the other hand to share their knowledge. The company supports this process with international projects, such as the Executive Academy, Top 100 or meetings of Project Work Groups.

5. What does employment in your foreign mines look like? Do they employ Poles or local workers? If locals – how do you recruit them? Do you cooperate with a local job agency or recruit them directly? What does it look like and does it pose any difficulties?

Employment of individuals from outside of our company for our foreign branches is carried out by means of recruitment processes run by employers in charge of recruitment in KGHM International companies (Canada, USA, Chile) and Sierra Gorda SCM (Chile). Individuals interested in working in these branches should apply at: http://www.kghminternational.com/careers/open-positionsfor KGHMI and http://www.kghm.bumeran.cl/aplicantes for Sierra Gorda SCM. Additionally, our workers may be employed in our foreign branches as part of our mobility policy and internal recruitment processes.

6. Who is in charge of foreign units? Is the managerial staff from Poland?

The managers in KGHM originate from all over the world. Poles represent the largest group of managers in the company. People in charge of our foreign companies also include individuals of Polish origin.

7. To what extent do the terms of employment in Polish facilities differ from (or are similar to) those in KGHM facilities in Canada or the US?

The terms of employment applicable in Poland are in line with the Labour Code and the Corporate Collective Labour Agreement, which governs the terms of employment in KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. In Canada and the US separate employment regulations apply, which do not regulate the terms of employment in the same way as in Poland. That is why the terms of employment in KGHM in individual countries result from the laws applicable in these countries.

8. Do you "fetch" Poles to establishments located abroad due to e.g. better qualifications? What does the recruitment procedure look like in the case of workers in foreign establishments?

See point 5.

9. When did your company launch its first measures addressed to high school/university students/graduates and why? What is the main purpose of the projects? How are they connected to the company's human resources strategy, its HR policy or corporate values?

Since its very beginning, i.e. since 1959, KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. has carried out strategic projects related to corporate social responsibility. The company's strategy has always involved support for regional development and academic community, in particular through extensive collaboration with institutions of higher education in Poland and regional high schools.

Joint educational projects carried out with technical schools and universities enable KGHM not only to support the process of educating future graduates by familiarising them with their possible future work environment in Poland, but also to provide Polish students and academics with opportunities to gain professional experience abroad (e.g. in Canada, the US, Chile). In their cooperation with the educational circles, KGHM employees always act in line with our core corporate values: collaboration, responsibility, courage, as well as safety and success orientation.

10. Please, describe the target group of your programmes and enumerate the educational institutions involved.

The programmes run by the company are addressed to students of secondary and tertiary technical education related to the company's areas of operation. The company cooperates with high schools and universities that prepare students for the following positions: mechanic, miner, electrician, electronic engineer, economist, geologist and metallurgist.

Among others:

  • AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow,
  • Wrocław University of Technology,
  • Silesian University of Technology,
  • Wrocław University of Economics,
  • Poznań University of Economics,
  • School of Higher Vocational Education of the Copper Mining Region in Lubin,
  • International University of Logistics and Transport in Wrocław,
  • No 1 B. Krupiński School Complex in Lubin,
  • J. Wyżykowski School Complex in Głogów,
  • Mechanical School Complex in Bolesławiec.

11. Please, describe your programmes (their purpose, scope and content, forms of activities, applied tools, etc.) Go Global Internships

As a global company, KGHM supports Polish students who are willing to gain professional experience abroad as part of the Go Global Internships programme. The programme is addressed to students of technical studies and enables them to familiarise themselves with the specifics of business operation in the US, Canada and Chile. During internship, students may participate in international projects, prepare for their thesis and smoothly enter the job market. As part of the programme, each year the company organises a dozen valuable internships for the students of the 4th and 5th year.

Young Talent programme

For several years, the company has also run a "Young Talent" programme addressed to fifth year students and graduates of economic and technical studies. It is the first project of this kind in the mining industry. Its purpose is to develop the competence of a select group of students and graduates with high potential in the field of financial, strategic and production operations of KGHM, attract and keep talented individuals and adopt a long-term and complex approach to investment in the development of young people. Selected students and graduates are offered a rotational (broken down into six-month periods) programme of development in four areas of company's operation (including the option to complete vocational training abroad), a career path, periodic evaluation scheme, over 40 days of dedicated training, as well as mentoring. The members of the "Young Talent" programme take part in ambitious projects, e.g. integration with newly acquired foreign companies or assessment of investment projects' viability.

Breeding Ground for Human Resources

Since January 2011, the company has been the strategic partner of the "Breeding Ground for Human Resources IV" project carried out together with the Wrocław School of Economics. Its purpose is to prepare highly-qualified staff for the regional economy and to develop university's potential through a better adaptation of the educational offer to job market requirements. As parts of the programme, KGHM has prepared second-degree study offer for the university. The company has also helped to update the current adult education programmes by adapting them to the needs of employers. Students of the Wrocław School of Economics could also enjoy one- and three-month long placements in KGHM. One of the elements of the project involved the development of a report on the preparation of university graduates for the needs of the job market. Its presentation was accompanied by a panel discussion attended by the company's management. For its involvement in the Breeding Ground for Human Resources programme, KGHM was awarded with the Best Employer and Internship Organiser statuette twice, in 2010 and in 2011.

Step to success

In 2010, KGHM also cooperated with the State Vocational High School in Głogów, which carried out the "Step to success – improving the didactic potential of an institution of higher education" programme co-financed by the European Union. No less than 45 students and graduates of the State Vocational High School in Głogów and in Legnica enjoyed internships and vocational training.

Internships and vocational training

The company also organises internships and vocational training during which high school and university students may gain practical skills. Programmes are adapted to their needs and concern various jobs: blue-collar and white-collar, underground in smelters or in offices, in all branches and the Board's Office.

Assistance with writing a thesis

Meeting the expectations of the academic community, the company also provides access to materials needed for diploma theses. The offer is addressed primarily to the students of mining, mechanics, electrical engineering, industrial automatics, economics, pedagogy and psychology faculties. This way it enables future graduates to gain experience and familiarise themselves with the specifics of a copper production enterprise. Each year, the company provides assistance to several hundred students.

Competition of the President of the Management Board

Another incentive for young people is the scholarship programme announced in autumn 2011 and the competition for the prize of the President of the Board for the best thesis. Its purpose is to distinguish well-qualified graduates of institutions of higher education and to obtain analytical studies concerning issues significant for the company, prepared by students and supervised by academic staff and employees of KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.

Open doors

KGHM also organises visits of students of technical studies from Polish and foreign universities (e.g. Oxford, Vancouver) to mines and smelters and provides training in the field of the manufacturing process and the principles of operation of a modern enterprise.

Professional Orientation Programme

KGHM Polska Miedź S.A. runs a long-term project starting already at the stage of high school: Professional Orientation Programme for the Graduates of No 1 B. Krupiński School Complex in Lubin and J. Wyżykowski School Complex in Głogów. Its purpose is to support graduates in their first contacts with the job market. KGHM acquires future employees for the post of self-propelled mining machines operator from among high school graduates with the following fields of specialisation: mechanical technician, underground mining technician, electrical technician, electronic technician, automatic technician and metallurgical technician. The programme involves participation in vocational training financed by Poviat Labour Offices in the Copper Mining Region and in specialist courses, and finally employing the best participants at operators’ posts in company's mining branches and, as requested, in metallurgical branches. In the editions held to date, KGHM has already employed over 50 people.

12.  Are your employees involved in cooperation with the school/academic community? If yes, what employees (posts, divisions, scope of responsibilities) and in what way?

Each of the presented forms of cooperation between KGHM and educational facilities involves our employees representing all areas of company operation.

  • They deliver lectures and speeches for the future graduates and didactic staff;
  • They also act as mentors in the process of orientation in the company;
  • They meet with high school and university students at job fairs and open door meetings.

    13. What are the benefits for the target group resulting from its participation in projects? Do you apply any tools to assess the impact of the taken measures on the competence of their participants (surveys, interviews with participants, other)?

    • Opportunity to gain first professional experience in Poland and abroad,
    • familiarisation with the culture, customs and nature of work in Canada, the US, Chile and practising English and Spanish,
    • contact with top-class specialists in Poland and abroad,
    • development of professional and interpersonal skills through training, mentoring, coaching and other developmental measures,
    • opportunity to acquire materials and knowledge needed to write a thesis,
    • work for the best employer in Poland according to Randstad Awards 2013.

    14. What are the benefits for the company resulting from the projects? Do you plan to continue these measures? In what form?

    Main benefits resulting from company's cooperation with the school and academic community include:

    • acquiring candidates with the highest development potential,
    • shaping self-awareness of young people and teaching them to respect work,
    • reinforcing the image of the employer of first choice among young people,
    • acquiring a fresh perspective on company processes.

    The company intends to continue its measures related to close cooperation with the school and academic community. We would like to extend the scope of our collaboration, in particular as regards global measures. Due to the size of the company and its dynamic development on international markets, KGHM develops cooperation with foreign universities e.g. from Canada, the UK, Germany or the Netherlands.

      15.   What does the recruitment process to KGHM look like?

        Information about terms of recruitment in KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.:

        • All vacancies are posted on our website: http://rekrutacja.kghm.pl .
        • Candidate applications are only accepted in response to specific advertisements concerning work in KGHM Branches and KGHM Capital Group.
        • Applications are considered by Branch Recruitment Committees.
        • Applications are submitted on-line on a form attached to a given job advertisement.
        • Advertisements always contain a date until which the candidate will be informed if he or she has been accepted.
        • A lack of information by the set deadline shall be understood as a failure to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.
        • A candidate qualified to the second stage of the recruitment process will be notified via e-mail or phone about the date of the interview with the Branch Recruitment Committee. During the interview, the candidate may be asked to present documents to confirm the declared education, authorisations, certificates, and his/her competence, language skills, knowledge and abilities may be tested. The candidate may also be asked to solve a short task.
        • After the interview, which may also involve tests, tasks to solve and language tests, the candidate will be notified by the deadline set by the Committee to which of the following three groups he or she has been assigned: rejected applications, qualified for employment, registered in the Central Candidate Database.
        • The registration in the Central Candidate Database enables a candidate to take part in recruitment processes concerning the same or similar posts without the need to fill in the questionnaire once again. Data are stored in the CCD for 1 year.