New training initiative will attract young people to the industry

With Viden Djurs (school for vocational training and education), Terma Aerostructures has taken the initiative to bring together a number of local companies to reintroduce the training program as Industrial Operator in the local area. Read more…

In the coming years, Terma Aerostructures will be hiring many new employees, both experienced employees and young people with a wish to work in the metal and plastics industry. Other industrial companies face the same challenge as Terma: to ensure a pipeline of qualified young people for future jobs in the industry. In concert, the share of young people in the region will decline in the coming years. Therefore, we must make extraordinary efforts to make vocational training attractive.

This is the background for Terma and Viden Djurs bringing together local companies to ensure support for reintroducing training to become industrial operator in the Djursland area, where Viden Djurs coordinates post-secondary education and vocational training. The industrial operator training program which lasts 2-3 years will be used to make young people interested in and aware of the opportunities in the industry.

This week, almost 30 representatives from the education community and the industry attended a meeting at Terma to learn more about the initiative and perspectives of the industrial operator training program. Terma has a good experience with industrial operators. Some years ago, we conducted a training course with a team of seven in collaboration with Viden Djurs. Six of the seven are still working in Terma as assembly fitters or have completed further training and have become plastic engineers.

In order to establish a training course, 12 students and the availability of apprenticeships for all are required. Terma has decided to set up four apprenticeships in addition to the 21 apprenticeships we already have at the three Danish locations.

Terma in Grenaa currently has six apprentices: Four plastics engineers, one industrial engineer, and one within surface treatment. In addition, three have initiated a program as plastic specialists, a 1-year extension to the plastics engineer apprenticeship. Add to this an additional apprenticeship as industrial engineer who we have not managed to fill yet.

Participants in the meeting established an education committee, and during the spring, Viden Djurs will contact the companies to clarify whether or not backing can be established to launch a campaign to recruit young people for the program starting in August 2016.