in the Finnish chemical industry - Kemia-lehti

Riitta JuvonenThe renowned Finnish education systemis going through a renewal phase.With smaller incoming generationsand shrinking budgets the educationand training providers are forced toreconsider their offerings. A number ofvocational and polytechnic institutes’study programmes with high unit costsare under threat, especially with the lownumber of applicants.The vocational study programme forprocess industry operators is one of thetraining programmes that do not attractyoung people. Some education andtraining providers have already decidedto discontinue the programme.Soile KallioThe number of polytechnics offeringprogrammes for chemical processengineers, or related subjects, has alsodecreased. If this trend continues, thechemical industry will face growingrecruitment challenges.The message from the industry isclear: the companies need skilful peoplefor their production and other functions.If training for chemical industryprofessions weakens, success of theindustry is endangered.For a balanced supply of educationand training, communication betweenthe industry and education sectors hasto be intensified. To meet employers’personnel needs close education-industryinteraction on both local and nationallevel is essential.Luckily cooperation betweeneducation and training institutes andemployers is inbuilt in the Finnisheducation system. All basic three yearvocational study programmes includea six months learning period in actualwork places. Further development ofthis collaboration will aid the industry indelivering its message to the educationinstitutions. Recently, the National Boardof Education even provided some projectfunding for this work.Skills needs mustbe anticipatedChanges in education systems andcurricula tend to be slow. The results ofchanges made today will only be seenin the labour market after several years.Thus, it is crucial to look into the futureand try to anticipate the future skillsneeds as exactly as possible.During the last few years the Finnishchemical industry has participatedin a number of anticipation projects.These projects seem to concentrate onexpert and managerial work, describinginteresting scenarios about futureworking life and skills but paying lessattention to production jobs.The innovative Aalto IDBM studentgroup tested chemical industry brandconcepts at the ChemBio Finland Fairin March 2013.To illuminate the needs in productionwork, the National Education andTraining Committee of the Chemicaland Forest Sector launched a projectin 2012 about future skills in industrialproduction work. Based on changesin the operating environment and newtechnologies, the survey will provide apicture of a future process operator andthe skills requirements involved.Preliminary results of the projectbased on company interviews and Delphisurveys show that process operators’ jobsare changing to cover a wider set of skills.Handling more automatised processesand mastering several positions in theThe target is that thechemical industryholds a top position inyoung people’s careerplans by 2020.production line are traits of the futureprocess operator. Understanding businessprocesses and continuous assessment ofhealth, safety, and environment aspectsare also growing requirements on thefactory floor level.The final report will be availablelater this year. The industry hopes thatextensive use of these results will bemade when developing operator trainingcurricula.New concepts forbetter visibilityAccording to a recent study by T-Media,Finnish teenagers rank the chemicalindustry as their 21 st option of 30 whenasked where they would like to work.Despite the low interest in chemicalindustry jobs, the T-Media study showsthat this branch is considered importantfor the society, offering higher wagesthan many other branches. The goodnews is that 30 per cent of the top pupilsin high school position the chemicalindustry among attractive employers.The real challenge is that chemicalcompanies are not known among the5/2013 KEMIA15