GIRLS-LEADERS OF THE FUTURE FORUM AT SUNPP

For the first time, an educational event designed for girls – the Pivdennoukrainsk NPP ‘Leaders of the Future’ Forum – took place at the South-Ukrainian NPP site. Schoolgirls in Years 9 and 10 from secondary schools in the town of Pivdennoukrainsk were invited to take part in the event.

The forum programme comprised six sessions, including an introductory video by the South-Ukrainian NPP (SUNPP) branch about women in the nuclear industry, presentations on gender balance in the nuclear sector and leadership – the key themes of the event – presentations by representatives of the branch’s initiative group, who spoke about their career paths to technical specialisations at nuclear power plants; in particular, the girls were treated to a presentation by the Human Resources Department on current professions at nuclear power plants, the conclusion of tripartite agreements, on-site internships and employment.

A separate session was dedicated to developing teamwork and communication skills, as well as leadership qualities. Throughout the event, the young women also took part in themed games that enabled participants to recognise their own strengths, build trust within the group and foster a supportive environment.

Larysa Shevchuk, an employee of the Planning and Economic Department at SUNPP who holds a managerial position, shared her own journey from entering higher education to employment at a nuclear power plant and her career progression to a managerial role. In particular, employees from various departments of the company shared their personal paths to a career at a nuclear power plant.

A highlight of the forum was the ‘Open Mic’ session, where the young women enthusiastically joined in a lively discussion on career choices and employment at the SUNPP branch; the lively debate demonstrated the younger generation’s high level of interest in the nuclear industry, and to conclude, the organisers conducted an interactive survey to assess the effectiveness of this event format in building trust in nuclear energy and to analyse the young people’s expectations, the knowledge they had gained, and their wishes for the future.

The Pivdennoukrainsk branch of the UkrNS would like to thank everyone who contributed to the creation of this engaging career guidance event at the SUNPP site, in particular, to the representatives of the initiative group and the psychologists from the Pivdennoukrainsk City Centre for Social Services, Lidiia Lemeshchuk and Olena Aleksandrova, who demonstrated through their own example that psychology is not just knowledge, but understanding, support and the search for approaches.