GSP-1005
Pamirskaya Street 11, Office 210
Nizhnii Novgorod
Tel: (8312) 52-54-97, 52-35-31, 52-69-54
Fax: (8312) 52-77-17
E-mail: [email protected]
Contact: Olga Ivanova Voroshilova

Galina Popova (left) of Vozhmoznost and Olga Voroshilova of Shans

Shans (Chance) was set up in January 1996 by Vozmozhnost through a one-year grant from the Eurasia Foundation. Located in the working class section of Nizhnii Novgorod, east of the Oka river, Shans began by training students in their training center according to the requests of their clients--businesses that requested employees with specific skills. The training was free due to the Eurasia grant and fees paid by the clients. The first year, Shans trained over 200 individuals for positions as secretaries, bookeepers and accountants and with skills in computers and sewing. Students at the training centers included displaced workers from plant closings, discharged soldiers, women seeking their first employment and youth seeking training for their first jobs.

Since the end of the grant, the program has continued to operate, although only by instituting a fee for its students. Many of the students who currently attend their programs are professionals upgrading present work skills. They continue to provide excellent training for both Russian companies and local offices of international corporations such as McDonald's and Coca-Cola. Their future plans include locating funding to open an employment center which would provide a library for those searching for jobs in Nizhnii Novgorod. They are also seeking funding to subsidize the training program in order to eliminate the fee for students.

Sewing Training Center

Computer Training Center

Sponsored by:
Center for Civil Society International
Return to the Russian Organizations (West of the Urals) Page.
Return to the NIS Organizations Home Page.
This section is accessible from the CCSI's Home Page: http://www.friends-partners.org/~ccsi/