Russia: Reality TV show offers factory jobs as prize

The show aims to boost the popularity of industrial jobs

A new Russian reality show is trying to improve the image of industrial work - by giving contestants the chance to compete for jobs at a chemical factory.

The programme, called Zavod - or The Factory - is billed as Russia's first "industrial-style" reality show, and will be shown on a local channel in the Urals city of Perm later this month, the Takiye Dela website reports. It will feature graduates from local universities and colleges without prior work experience undergoing several selection rounds for jobs at the local Azot fertiliser plant, with factory managers evaluating candidates' professional skills and team-working ability, the website says.

The roles awaiting the winners include: "remote control-panel operator for ammonia production", "technician for control and measuring instruments" and "process area shift leader".

Azot's deputy director, Yekaterina Vozhegova, tells the Uralinform news agency that the aim is to attract young people to what she says are unpopular technical and engineering jobs. Once prestigious under Communist rule, the image of industrial work suffered with the decline of Russia's manufacturing sector after the collapse of the Soviet Union - and the belief that more money could be made elsewhere, such as in business. "We want to dispel myths," Ms Vozhegova says. "We want to show what modern, hi-tech manufacturing looks like, and that you can earn well, have a career and live an exciting life at a factory these days."

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