When Nastya Dobrinina joined Cirque du Soleil at the age of 16, she already held a number of gold medals.
But even as she got off the plane in Montreal to go to the Cirque's headquarters, the young highboard diving champion still was not sure what her talent had to do with the circus.
After all, back home in Moscow, the circus was mostly about dancing elephants, acrobats and trained horses - definitely not about swimming pools.
"I didn't know where I was going to be diving from, but I was so young that it didn't matter much. What mattered was that I was going to have a stable job to feed my entire family back in Russia," remembers Ms Dobrinina, now 29.
"My coach saw a different future for me. He wanted me to go to the 1996 Olympics, but I had surgery and wasn't able to recover quickly enough to get in shape. And then I found out about Cirque du Soleil."
So, for the past 11 years, Ms Dobrinina has been a part of the multinational crew of the Las Vegas water show, "O".
Wearing a white costume, she dives from a swing into a swimming pool that magically appears from under the stage at the Bellagio hotel.
Recipe for success
Nastya is not the only Russian to have been hired by this famous Canadian circus, which has just celebrated its 25th anniversary.
Altogether, more than 300 of Cirque du Soleil's artists - about a third of the whole troupe - are from Russia and the former Soviet republics.
The circus owes a debt to those countries' tradition of excellence in gymnastics, athletics and the pool. Many of its artists are former Olympic, World or European medal winners.
The circus's head coach Boris Verkhovsky, a former member of Russia's national acrobatics team, says: "When Cirque du Soleil decided to produce new circus acts using what we call 'elite sportsmen', we knew right away where these sportsmen were going to come from," he explains.
"Gymnasts, acrobats, highboard divers, trampoline jumpers... the biggest number of these sportsmen was in the Soviet Union."
The company has looked after its Russian artists, placing those who, like Nastya, joined Cirque du Soleil as children, into Russian host families.
And those performers have helped Cirque de Soleil become one of the most successful travelling shows in the world, playing to more than 40 million people in more than 130 cities in four continents over the past 25 years.
There are currently eight touring and nine permanent shows, including "O" in Las Vegas.
Fightback
The loss of so many of its best performers has caused alarm in Russia, and Vadim Gurovich of the Moscow State Circus says is is determined to reverse the drain of talent.
"When so many of the best artists left in the 1990s, it had an effect on the overall quality of the acts that stayed in Russia," he says.
"They were leaving because of a poor financial situation at that time and because Cirque du Soleil was able to offer them more money.
"But now Russian circuses are able to offer even better salaries than abroad, and that's why now people prefer to stay at home."
It is a claim disputed at Cirque du Soleil, where the casting department is still confident it can easily hire the best of the best from any country, including Russia.
And most of the Russian artists I spoke to are happy to be part of Cirque's troupe, made up of 4,400 employees from 66 countries.
"Sometimes I think: 'Hey, maybe I should go back?'" says Ms Dobrinina. "But usually only for a second."
"Cirque du Soleil has helped me see the world, and I don't regret a bit being a part of it."
Showing posts with label employment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label employment. Show all posts
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Jobs squeeze leaves graduates stranded
Unemployment has soared to over 6 million in recent months and many of these are graduates who had previously been in high demand. However, the problem is not only unskilled graduates but also inefficient industry which does not cater for workers with higher education. Labour productivity in Russia is less than 30 per cent than that of the United States, partly because many workers are unsuited to their current jobs.
People want well-paid jobs, but most of the jobs are archaic and unproductive," said Yevgeny Yasin, the school's academic supervisor, who is a former economics minister. "A surplus of education in terms of the number of years people have spent at university leaves workers unmotivated and with low life satisfaction."
The government is already making plans to reform the education system as part of long-running changes, as well as to fight the crisis. A new program for 2012 has been approved by the government, which Education Minister Andrei Fursenko said a "huge amount of money" had been set aside for.
"We do not view them [our proposals] as a component of anti-crisis measures," said Fursenko. "We have been doing anti-crisis measures for five years. The crisis has cast a bright light on these problems."
Approximately half the 43 billion rouble ($1.3 billion) anti-crisis labour package will be set aside for education, supporting both universities and training blue-collar workers.
More money has been set aside to assist the estimated 15 per cent to 30 per cent of students will be unable to afford their fees in the next few years, with universities worrying that their best students might drop out. One university in Vladivostok has offered all Russian students free places next year, with the funds coming from an increased number of paying foreigners, while other universities appear set to offer similar schemes.
"We will enlarge the number of places for students to study for free but these kinds of measures only have small results because most universities don't have a lot of free budget places," said Yaroslav Kuzminov, rector of the Higher School of Economics. "We very regularly change students from paying to free so for us it won't change a lot."
Private universities will be the biggest casualties of more free places, with management and linguistics university LINK already noticing a decline in the number of postgraduate applications.
"It is very dangerous for us because it is possible that the number of graduates will be equal to the number of free places," said Andrei Shuinov, deputy rector of LINK. "Private universities may have no students at all."
People want well-paid jobs, but most of the jobs are archaic and unproductive," said Yevgeny Yasin, the school's academic supervisor, who is a former economics minister. "A surplus of education in terms of the number of years people have spent at university leaves workers unmotivated and with low life satisfaction."
The government is already making plans to reform the education system as part of long-running changes, as well as to fight the crisis. A new program for 2012 has been approved by the government, which Education Minister Andrei Fursenko said a "huge amount of money" had been set aside for.
"We do not view them [our proposals] as a component of anti-crisis measures," said Fursenko. "We have been doing anti-crisis measures for five years. The crisis has cast a bright light on these problems."
Approximately half the 43 billion rouble ($1.3 billion) anti-crisis labour package will be set aside for education, supporting both universities and training blue-collar workers.
More money has been set aside to assist the estimated 15 per cent to 30 per cent of students will be unable to afford their fees in the next few years, with universities worrying that their best students might drop out. One university in Vladivostok has offered all Russian students free places next year, with the funds coming from an increased number of paying foreigners, while other universities appear set to offer similar schemes.
"We will enlarge the number of places for students to study for free but these kinds of measures only have small results because most universities don't have a lot of free budget places," said Yaroslav Kuzminov, rector of the Higher School of Economics. "We very regularly change students from paying to free so for us it won't change a lot."
Private universities will be the biggest casualties of more free places, with management and linguistics university LINK already noticing a decline in the number of postgraduate applications.
"It is very dangerous for us because it is possible that the number of graduates will be equal to the number of free places," said Andrei Shuinov, deputy rector of LINK. "Private universities may have no students at all."
City students staying positive
Moscow students may be facing tougher times due to the crisis, but many are determined to stay positive and overcome whatever problems may come.
Karina, 20, a student in the faculty of management and political economy at Moscow State Open University, started to work in a real estate agency before the crisis, and said the problems had hit the real estate sector harder than education. "My boss is suffering in the crisis, that's for sure - and we don't hire anyone anymore," she said. Karina's friend has troubles with education payments, but not because she doesn't have money to pay. She simply works so hard that she can't find time to go to university for that purpose. "Of course the crisis is tough," said Karina, "but the show must go on."
Despite the crisis, some lucky students have found a job recently. Maria, 21, a student in the same faculty, got a job in a bank debts collection agency. "It's not only students struggling to find a job," said Maria, "it's almost everyone's problem. And yes, paying students have more difficulties now. Some of them are trying to switch to a non-paying education. There are rumours at the dormitory that they even have to pay extra money to be switched to a free education."
A lot of non-paying students are from other towns and live here on their own, without parents' support. Natalya, 18, a student at the university's Business and Management faculty, started to work part-time as soon as she entered the university, because she has to rent a flat. She works in a governmental organisation and feels that state-backed enterprises are more secure now than commercial ones, though none of her acquaintances lost their job yet, and some of them found a job recently. The crisis could even be a good opportunity to get rid of people who can't do their job properly, she said.
The university's employment centre offers only temporary jobs, which doesn't suit many graduates looking to build a career. Natalya, 19, from the Linguistics faculty, agrees that students and graduates are having a hard time now trying to find a job. She's working part-time now and plans to go abroad after graduating.
First-year students from Moscow often live with their parents and more of them can study full-time. Vladimir, 19, and Yury, 18, students at the university's radio technology and electronics faculty, said they don't plan to start to looking for a job until next year. "We'll solve the problems when they come up," said Vladimir. "Who knows what will happen with the government next year?"
Zhanna Avanesyan, the dean of the university's Linguistics and Cross-Cultural Communication faculty, which currently has 10 free and 90 paid places, said that one-quarter of students had already expressed doubts they can pay their fees for next year.
"We're working with each student individually," she said. "Some can switch to non-paying courses, while others are going on to evening classes, which is half price."
Karina, 20, a student in the faculty of management and political economy at Moscow State Open University, started to work in a real estate agency before the crisis, and said the problems had hit the real estate sector harder than education. "My boss is suffering in the crisis, that's for sure - and we don't hire anyone anymore," she said. Karina's friend has troubles with education payments, but not because she doesn't have money to pay. She simply works so hard that she can't find time to go to university for that purpose. "Of course the crisis is tough," said Karina, "but the show must go on."
Despite the crisis, some lucky students have found a job recently. Maria, 21, a student in the same faculty, got a job in a bank debts collection agency. "It's not only students struggling to find a job," said Maria, "it's almost everyone's problem. And yes, paying students have more difficulties now. Some of them are trying to switch to a non-paying education. There are rumours at the dormitory that they even have to pay extra money to be switched to a free education."
A lot of non-paying students are from other towns and live here on their own, without parents' support. Natalya, 18, a student at the university's Business and Management faculty, started to work part-time as soon as she entered the university, because she has to rent a flat. She works in a governmental organisation and feels that state-backed enterprises are more secure now than commercial ones, though none of her acquaintances lost their job yet, and some of them found a job recently. The crisis could even be a good opportunity to get rid of people who can't do their job properly, she said.
The university's employment centre offers only temporary jobs, which doesn't suit many graduates looking to build a career. Natalya, 19, from the Linguistics faculty, agrees that students and graduates are having a hard time now trying to find a job. She's working part-time now and plans to go abroad after graduating.
First-year students from Moscow often live with their parents and more of them can study full-time. Vladimir, 19, and Yury, 18, students at the university's radio technology and electronics faculty, said they don't plan to start to looking for a job until next year. "We'll solve the problems when they come up," said Vladimir. "Who knows what will happen with the government next year?"
Zhanna Avanesyan, the dean of the university's Linguistics and Cross-Cultural Communication faculty, which currently has 10 free and 90 paid places, said that one-quarter of students had already expressed doubts they can pay their fees for next year.
"We're working with each student individually," she said. "Some can switch to non-paying courses, while others are going on to evening classes, which is half price."
Foreigners’ work visa hassles grow
Getting work permits for foreigners in Russia has traditionally been a thorny issue, mired in red tape and confusing, constantly-changing rules.
But that confusion appears to be getting worse during the current economic crisis - not least because government agencies are tightening rules, as they come under increasing pressure to provNear the end of 2008, there seemed to be much more hiccups than usual for companies trying to hire and retain foreign employees, whether those companies were trying to fumble through the red tape themselves, or pay law firms and agencies to take care of their problems.
People who thought that everything should be ready in two and a half months realized that things were taking much longer, and those with work permits expiring at the end of 2008 found themselves forced to leave the country as their papers were not ready on time.
The procedure is especially multi-layered for a representative office of a foreign firm.
To open a representative office in Russia, the firm first needs to be accredited in Russia, usually by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or by the State Registration Chamber. A few other companies are accredited elsewhere - banks, for example, are accredited by the Central Bank. The representative office is issued a permit - usually valid for two years - where it is also stated how many foreign employees the representative office may hire.
Basically, a representative office may hire foreigners within this limit, and the employee is issued not a work permit, but an accreditation card from the accrediting body which becomes the basis for applying for a multiple-entry visa. Until recently, this was the standard, but there have been cases of police officers harassing such employed foreigners during their routine document checks in the streets, and the Japan Business Club and Association of European Businesses instruct their members to obtain work permits for accredited foreign employees working in representative offices.
One major problem was encountered late last year when the Transport Ministry said it would no longer give out any accreditations. Airlines had traditionally been accredited by the Transport Ministry, but they suddenly faced the need to be accredited elsewhere, while their employees' work permits were fast expiring.
Getting hard information about the real situation regarding work permits, quotas and visas can prove elusive.
Telephone, e-mail and faxed enquiries to the Federal Migration Service and various foreign business associations for this article over a period of several weeks turned up little, with the only responses coming from people who declined to be identified, citing the sensitive nature of ongoing discussions on the issue.
Everyone agrees that a major problem is that the rules are constantly changing. Even Russian companies, which do not have the hassle of accreditations, often come up against problems. Quotas for foreign employees must be filed far in advance - applications for 2010 are accepted until May 1, 2009. Quotas are specified by nationality and profession, so employers have to plan a year ahead, which is not always possible.
The Federal Migration Service has become stricter in enforcing rules, as well. Two years ago, diplomas attesting to the applicant's qualifications were necessary only for language teachers, but since October 2008, the rule is being enforced for all professions. One Russian company in the automotive sector immediately ran into some problems. While most of their foreign employees were able to produce appropriate diplomas, the plant manager had only a high school diploma, while another employee, a translator, had applied for the position of "equipment engineer" because the company had not filed for a quota for a translator, and one specialist engineer didn't even go to high school.
"I've been in this job for almost 45 years," he said, on condition of anonymity. "No one ever asked me if I finished school." After posting a vacancy for plant manager at the employment centre for a month and failing to find an appropriate candidate, the migration service issued a work permit for the manager.
Meanwhile, the translator was told that without a diploma in engineering, there would be no work permit for 2009 and that the company should apply for an appropriate translator quota for 2010. The specialist engineer is still waiting.
"One of the problems is that we really don't know what's going on. Some companies have problems, some in the same circumstances don't. There are several FMS branches in Moscow, and they each seem to have different interpretations of the rules. Most foreign companies pay agencies to deal with this, and the result appears to vary depending on the agent's expertise. There is no definite guideline, and that leaves us unsure how to proceed," commented the director of a foreign business association, who asked not to be identified, citing ongoing talks with the authorities about visa issues.
An associate working at an international law firm confirmed that procedures are taking longer, mainly due to the mandatory one-month waiting period while the vacancy is posted at the employment centre. This is to ensure that a suitable candidate cannot be found amongst Russian citizens. Vitaly Dianov, a lawyer at Capital Legal Services, said that the entire procedure can take up to six months.
Spending six months on getting a work permit valid for a year doesn't make anyone happy, but there seems no alternative at the moment.
Asked if the government is squeezing out foreigners to help unemployed Russians get back into work, Dianov said: "De facto, the Moscow immigration authorities have frozen examining the quota applications until they are provided with guidelines from their superiors regarding further development of the immigration policy in Russia. We do not expect the authorities will simplify these procedures. Moreover, we foresee a reduction in the quota for 2009 and probably for 2010."
The FMS, the Association of European Businesses and the American Chamber of Commerce declined to comment for this report. The AEB said, intriguingly, that they might be willing to disclose more information by the end of April or early May.
One longstanding idea that may be finally making progress is to give some white-collar professionals from the European Union, the United States and Japan "green cards", which would allow their holders to avoid bureaucratic hassle with quotas.
A Federal Migration Service-drafted bill may be introduced to the Duma in July.
But that confusion appears to be getting worse during the current economic crisis - not least because government agencies are tightening rules, as they come under increasing pressure to provNear the end of 2008, there seemed to be much more hiccups than usual for companies trying to hire and retain foreign employees, whether those companies were trying to fumble through the red tape themselves, or pay law firms and agencies to take care of their problems.
People who thought that everything should be ready in two and a half months realized that things were taking much longer, and those with work permits expiring at the end of 2008 found themselves forced to leave the country as their papers were not ready on time.
The procedure is especially multi-layered for a representative office of a foreign firm.
To open a representative office in Russia, the firm first needs to be accredited in Russia, usually by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or by the State Registration Chamber. A few other companies are accredited elsewhere - banks, for example, are accredited by the Central Bank. The representative office is issued a permit - usually valid for two years - where it is also stated how many foreign employees the representative office may hire.
Basically, a representative office may hire foreigners within this limit, and the employee is issued not a work permit, but an accreditation card from the accrediting body which becomes the basis for applying for a multiple-entry visa. Until recently, this was the standard, but there have been cases of police officers harassing such employed foreigners during their routine document checks in the streets, and the Japan Business Club and Association of European Businesses instruct their members to obtain work permits for accredited foreign employees working in representative offices.
One major problem was encountered late last year when the Transport Ministry said it would no longer give out any accreditations. Airlines had traditionally been accredited by the Transport Ministry, but they suddenly faced the need to be accredited elsewhere, while their employees' work permits were fast expiring.
Getting hard information about the real situation regarding work permits, quotas and visas can prove elusive.
Telephone, e-mail and faxed enquiries to the Federal Migration Service and various foreign business associations for this article over a period of several weeks turned up little, with the only responses coming from people who declined to be identified, citing the sensitive nature of ongoing discussions on the issue.
Everyone agrees that a major problem is that the rules are constantly changing. Even Russian companies, which do not have the hassle of accreditations, often come up against problems. Quotas for foreign employees must be filed far in advance - applications for 2010 are accepted until May 1, 2009. Quotas are specified by nationality and profession, so employers have to plan a year ahead, which is not always possible.
The Federal Migration Service has become stricter in enforcing rules, as well. Two years ago, diplomas attesting to the applicant's qualifications were necessary only for language teachers, but since October 2008, the rule is being enforced for all professions. One Russian company in the automotive sector immediately ran into some problems. While most of their foreign employees were able to produce appropriate diplomas, the plant manager had only a high school diploma, while another employee, a translator, had applied for the position of "equipment engineer" because the company had not filed for a quota for a translator, and one specialist engineer didn't even go to high school.
"I've been in this job for almost 45 years," he said, on condition of anonymity. "No one ever asked me if I finished school." After posting a vacancy for plant manager at the employment centre for a month and failing to find an appropriate candidate, the migration service issued a work permit for the manager.
Meanwhile, the translator was told that without a diploma in engineering, there would be no work permit for 2009 and that the company should apply for an appropriate translator quota for 2010. The specialist engineer is still waiting.
"One of the problems is that we really don't know what's going on. Some companies have problems, some in the same circumstances don't. There are several FMS branches in Moscow, and they each seem to have different interpretations of the rules. Most foreign companies pay agencies to deal with this, and the result appears to vary depending on the agent's expertise. There is no definite guideline, and that leaves us unsure how to proceed," commented the director of a foreign business association, who asked not to be identified, citing ongoing talks with the authorities about visa issues.
An associate working at an international law firm confirmed that procedures are taking longer, mainly due to the mandatory one-month waiting period while the vacancy is posted at the employment centre. This is to ensure that a suitable candidate cannot be found amongst Russian citizens. Vitaly Dianov, a lawyer at Capital Legal Services, said that the entire procedure can take up to six months.
Spending six months on getting a work permit valid for a year doesn't make anyone happy, but there seems no alternative at the moment.
Asked if the government is squeezing out foreigners to help unemployed Russians get back into work, Dianov said: "De facto, the Moscow immigration authorities have frozen examining the quota applications until they are provided with guidelines from their superiors regarding further development of the immigration policy in Russia. We do not expect the authorities will simplify these procedures. Moreover, we foresee a reduction in the quota for 2009 and probably for 2010."
The FMS, the Association of European Businesses and the American Chamber of Commerce declined to comment for this report. The AEB said, intriguingly, that they might be willing to disclose more information by the end of April or early May.
One longstanding idea that may be finally making progress is to give some white-collar professionals from the European Union, the United States and Japan "green cards", which would allow their holders to avoid bureaucratic hassle with quotas.
A Federal Migration Service-drafted bill may be introduced to the Duma in July.
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