Helsinki responding to the shipyard’s talent needs with tailored training courses

Helsinki Shipyard needs new talent, and the solution is to hold training courses funded jointly by the shipyard and Helsinki Employment Services. The shipyard and Helsinki Vocational College (Stadin AO) are cooperating closely in designing the training courses. The first courses started in February, training sheet metal workers and pipe fitters for the needs of the shipyard.

Shared objective steering the cooperation

Helsinki Shipyard’s talent needs are growing, particularly due to icebreaker orders and shipbuilding projects. The training cooperation ensures that the right kind of workers are trained for the shipyard. 

HR Business Partner Lotta Eklund from Helsinki Shipyard says that the cooperation with the City of Helsinki has been consistent and fruitful. According to her, the key to success is the shared objective of the partners and their commitment to it. 

“All the parties involved are united by the clear and shared objective of matching jobseekers with jobs as appropriately as possible. The City of Helsinki’s co-partners have shown a strong commitment to this objective, which has created a good basis for the cooperation,” Eklund comments. 

The aim in designing the courses was to ensure that their content accurately reflects the skills required in the shipyard’s work duties. 

“The training courses are built so that they enable participants to acquire the exact skills required for the job. The structure of the courses is compact, yet long enough to allow the participants to develop their skills over a few months,” Eklund explains. 

Eklund praises the flexibility of the cooperation with Employment Services and Stadin AO and notes that tailored vocational training courses are one of the key solutions for recruiting talent. The aim in designing the courses with Stadin AO was to ensure that their content accurately reflects the skills required in the shipyard’s work duties. 

According to the shipyard, it is important that training and recruitment go hand in hand. Two courses are being held at the moment, and Eklund describes their progress as positive. 29 participants will have an opportunity to gain direct access to jobs at the shipyard through the training and on-the-job learning. 

“The participants have shown high motivation, and the shipyard has the capacity to employ people from among those who have successfully completed the training. The capabilities required in the duties of the shipyard ensure the smoothest possible transition from training to practical work,” Eklund emphasises. 

Tailored training model available for all employers

The shipyard is a good example of the training cooperation that Helsinki provides to all employers. 

The training cooperation makes use of the City of Helsinki’s internal resources in a variety of ways. Employment Services is responsible for managing the training courses and communicating with jobseekers, while Stadin AO brings professional and pedagogical expertise to the courses, facilitating flexible and work-oriented planning. The partnership strengthens the City’s ability to respond quickly to the talent needs of employers in different sectors. 

Education Manager Dan Koskinen from Helsinki Vocational College stresses that training courses can be tailored when the training provider, the employer and Employment Services cooperate closely and efficiently. The content of the training courses is prepared in continuous dialogue with the shipyard to ensure that the study modules reflect the actual requirements of the work duties. 

“It has been gratifying to see how quickly people’s skills are strengthened when goal orientation and opportunities meet,” Koskinen comments. 

Team Manager Bafrin Eskandari from Employment Services also stresses the effectiveness of the cooperation within the City: 

“When planning, communication and training services work together as a single entity, we can provide employers with effective access to talent and jobseekers with the most direct route possible from training to work.” 

Call for applications for sheet metal worker, pipe fitter and electrician training courses in April 

In April, a call for applications will be held for three training courses: sheet metal worker, pipe fitter and, as a new profession, electrician. The content of the training courses for sheet metal workers and pipe fitters is the same as that of the courses that started in February. The new electrician training course has been designed in close cooperation to meet the exact needs of the shipyard. 

Employment Services will continue to support the shipyard’s recruitment processes, including through targeted job placement. Additionally, communication about the training courses will be increased to reach jobseekers in Helsinki and the neighbouring municipalities as early as possible. 

The cooperation agreement between the City of Helsinki and the shipyard will be valid until the end of 2029, creating a long-term basis for the development of the training courses and the partnership itself.