ICSIM'S PROGRAMME FOR TRAINING IN THE STEEL INDUSTRY LAUNCHING THE FIRST EDITION OF THE EURO STEEL MASTER

Villalago (TR) - SEPTEMBER 2002

Icsim is a non-profit organisation created in 1994 with the aim of promoting cultural and educational programmes in the field of management studies and business history. Icsim is based in Terni and is an Association bringing together partners in the private and public sector. Since it was created, one of Icsim's main areas of interest has been the steel industry. In 1996 it sponsored an important international Conference by the title of Steel in the New Millennium, the proceedings of which have been published in London in 1998 (2vv edited by R. Ranieri, J. Aylen and E. Gibellieri) The Steelmaster is a yearly course aimed at managers, technical staff, white collar officials, consultants and experts connected to the steel industry. It has now reached its fourth edition. Since 1999 the Steelmaster is organised jointly by ICSIM and CSM (Centro Sviluppo Materiali). The Centro Sviluppo Materiali, based in Rome and Terni, is Italy's leading technical research body in the field of metallurgy, metals and other basic materials. The Steelmaster had been structured in a number of modules, connecting with the latest developments and innovations in the industry.

The modules are:
1) The Changing context of the international steel industry
2) Markets and users
3) International Treaties and negotiations
4) Industrial relations and environmental issues
5) Technological innovation and research
6) Company structure, management and performance

The modules are offered by experts from a variety of backgrounds, including company executives, academics, leading industrial consultants, members of international administrations, including the European Institutions, the Steel Committee of the OEEC, National Ministries and others.

The main aim of the Steelmaster is to offer the conceptual and operative tools necessary to confront the complex world faced by companies in a competitive and increasingly global steel market. For this reason participants in the Steelmaster are exposed to a wide variety of topics, they are invited to take part in a continuous interchange of ideas and are asked, at the end of the taught modules, to write a short thesis on a chosen subject in an area different from the one they have been originally trained in.

The success of the first few editions of the Steelmaster has prompted the organisers to upgrade the course at the European level. The first edition of this newly upgraded programme by the name of Euro Steel Master is to take place between the 20th and 28th of September at Villalago near Terni.

The course will be held in English and will cover five main areas:

1) The Development of the European Steel Industry and the Role of the ECSC
2) The Institutional and Legal Framework of Europe: the ECSC and the EC Treaties
3) Technology and Innovation: RDT, Environmental Issues and Safety Issues
4) Human Resource, Management, Work Organisation and Industrial Relations
5) Strategy and Performance: Main Trends in the International Steel Industry Within this broader curriculum a certain number of topics will receive special attention during the first 2001 Euro Steel Master edition. Among them:

· The European Treaties, focusing on the legal requirements and obligation of steel companies (mergers, concentrations, company law, social policy
· An overview of mergers, acquisitions and company strategies in the post-privatisation stage in Europe and Asia
· The Transition from Communism in Central/East Europe: success, survival and failure
· The Evolution of the North American strip market, including the impact of e-mail trading
· Globalisation and Human Resource Strategies in the steel industry, including developments in flexibility, skills, and outsourcing.

The 2001 Euro Steel Master will be aimed at managers, technical staff, researchers, trade union officials operating in the steel industry and in closely related branches within steel trading and steel using. Participants are expected from a variety of companies and organisations across Europe. The organisers are seeking to offer a new and unique programme, which will be focused on the following set of aims and objectives:

¨ To broaden the outlook of steel managers and operatives to cover areas in which they require updating and broadening of their information
¨ To offer the latest knowledge on current developments affecting the steel industry
¨ To provide a further avenue for training small and medium sized companies.

Programme click here