International trainees at Ouneva Group
Ouneva Group welcomed international new colleagues in May. In collaboration with Riveria vocational institute, we received some students of Mechanical Engineering and Production Technology as trainees. Increasing the number of international talents is important for us and it is an integral part in our strategy within the Winning Team focus area.
We had a chat with some of the international trainees at Ouneva and Alsiva factories. It was important for us to get to meet them, since they are our first truly international colleagues at Ouneva Group. All the international trainees speak basic Finnish, some more than others, but English is the main language we use together. It has been a case study for if we can employ people that don’t speak much Finnish successfully. The feedback from supervisors, the trainees themselves and their teachers at Riveria has shown that we can make it work!
Anu, machining at Alsiva foundry
“I have a mechanical engineering degree from my home country India. But I have always been curious about how things work in practice and I like doing practical things a lot. Especially with machining, what I am working with right now at Alsiva. I ended up studying at Riveria because I am so interested in machining and production technologies. Especially the programming side of manufacturing is really cool.
I came to visit Ouneva Group before through the school. Starting the traineeship here went well, the staff here are supportive and they take the time to teach you well. I’m operating four machines now, which is two weeks after starting. Us not speaking each other’s languages perfectly has not been an issue. We have always been able to communicate and get things done. And I have been received well here. I’m happy to be working here, and I get to learn more Finnish at the same time. I was offered a summer job here, and I’m very happy to stay over.”
Michael, assembly at Ouneva connector factory
“I am from Ghana and I have been in Finland for almost a year now. I studied food sciences back home, so I do have that curiosity and a scientific way of thinking. My father was an engineer, so that might also have something to do with it.
I have done some work through a staffing service provider here in Finland, but Ouneva is my first job in a Finnish community. So far it has been great. People are friendly, and they are helping me learn more Finnish. And it’s not just help with the language, it’s also related to the work. Everyone is always happy to help if I have any questions. I have gotten to try multiple tasks at Ouneva. It has been nice to see the diversity of the tasks available. I had a small culture shock at the assembly department. The radio is on and there is music playing, but nobody is dancing!
What I have noticed about the Finnish education system, that it is not just a school. It is more like you have a community of different professionals around you and there is a lot of attention to details. I have been happy about that.”
Bao, assembly at Ouneva connector factory
“I came to Finland to give my kids the opportunity to go to school here. I had heard a lot about the Finnish school system, so now we have been here for eight months. My kids already speak way more Finnish than me! So far I like being here. I ride my bike through the winter and I think it’s quite special to be able to do that.
My main area of studies is welding, but since this traineeship is my first job in Finland, I am doing general production tasks to get used to the different environment, language and culture. I have learned a lot. The environment is clean and light, and the workmates are friendly. For now, I have been doing assembly tasks and learning the related vocabulary.
A language barrier has not really been a worry. I get along great with everybody. It’s not a problem that the environment is in Finnish. I learn new words every day, and I write them down in my notebook.”
Samuel, bending at Ouneva sheet metal factory
“I learned about the programme at Riveria through a friend, who has lived in Finland for years. I arrived in Finland last September from Ghana and went pretty much straight to school.
My background is that I was first a science teacher and then a head teacher at a school in Ghana. I realised that an office job was not really what I wanted, so I decided to make a big life change by coming here. Coming from the educational sector, the working life is very different here. Measuring people’s contribution to the common goal is easier here in the manufacturing industry. I’m happy when I know how I am contributing.
It has been nice to work here. I have been working at the bending department. After a couple of days of onboarding, I got assigned my own immediate person from the team, who supports me daily. I got to work right after and finished a batch of a thousand pieces on my first proper day. It was satisfying to see my own output like that.
I think a language barrier does not really exist here. It’s possible to learn in many ways, especially by observing professionals and so on. If you see someone with passion for what they are doing, you shouldn’t limit them to the language they speak. And curious people will always find a way to learn the important vocabulary!”
Timo Ahonen, the head teacher of the degree programme also gave some comments about our collaboration:
“We started the collaboration for the international students with a visit to Ouneva factories. After the visit we were able to start planning and implementing next steps quite quickly. The attitude that Ouneva approached hiring internationals with was exceptional. The positivity and piety towards the new were something we were impressed with. We are looking forward to improving and deepening our collaboration even more. I’m sure it will be even better now that Ouneva has gotten to know the international talents a bit more and we all got a positive first experience out of it.”
We are very happy about how our first experience with international professionals went. We will continue our strong collaboration with local education providers and keep on improving our readiness for more international talent at Ouneva Group.