Campaign starts to attract more applicants to materials design
On Tuesday (November 13), a campaign to increase interest in higher education in materials design started with CEO Olof Faxander meeting teachers and job counselors from Bergslagen and Mälardalen at SSAB in Borlänge. The Swedish Steel Producers’ Associat
Yesterday (Tuesday, November 13) saw the opening shot at SSAB in Borlänge of a campaign aimed at turning around the falling interest in technical subjects among young people. The goal is to encourage many more to apply for the materials design courses at Dalarna University and the Royal College of Technology in Stockholm, which are so important for the industry. The courses are threatened with closure due to lack of students. The Swedish Steel Producers’ Association is investing SEK 16 million on the campaign over three years.
Some 40 teachers and job counselors from Bergslagen and Mälardalen had been invited to Borlänge to participate in the start of the campaign.
– “We would preferably like to attract students from the region to the course in Borlänge. Our experience shows that it is those people who are most motivated to work and put down roots here after the course,” said CEO Olof Faxander when he presented SSAB and the opportunities for development within the company.
Olof Faxander introduce SSAB
Worrying trend
The campaign is financed by the industry organization, the Swedish Steel Producers’ Association, which perceives a worrying trend with respect to interest in technical subjects among young people. Only 20 percent of senior high school students take technical and natural science programs. In the fall, only 50 students started higher education in materials design, a course which requires at least 100 new students every year.
– “When the industry is expanding and the recruitment base is diminishing, something must be done. Thus, we are investing SEK 16 million over three years in order to reverse the trend,” says Peter Salomon, Information Director at the Swedish Steel Producers’ Association. Of the money, SEK 3 million will go directly to higher education in materials design, which is one of the most important courses for supplying the industry’s skills requirements. The remainder of the money will be used on marketing aimed at inspiring young people to apply to study technical subjects.
Schools tour
After the New Year, the Swedish Steel Producers’ Association will embark on a tour of over 40 selected schools specializing in natural sciences and technical subjects in Bergslagen and Mälardalen. Engineering students and trained engineers alike will participate in the tour. Students at the schools will be able to take part in practical experiments, aimed at arousing curiosity and interest in technology.
In his presentation, Olof Faxander emphasized that SSAB is in every way a knowledge-based company.
– “It isn’t rolling mills and blast furnaces which first and foremost make us leaders in the industry, but rather our method of working and developing our products.”
Questions session
Olof Faxander stated that demands for personnel skills are increasing and that all new employees must at least have completed senior high school with passes in the core subjects, including English.
In reply to a question whether this wasn’t a barrier to more practically-inclined persons, he answered that it is necessary for all employees to be able to read documentation and instructions. These are often in English, which has become increasingly common as the day-to-day language at SSAB following the acquisition of IPSCO.
In the concluding questions session, Olle Berglund, a technical teacher at Soltorgsskolan in Borlänge, expressed the view that SSAB should, to an even greater extent, demonstrate to young people how multi-faceted the company is and the great scope of the opportunities available in all professional categories. He proposed that the current 18-year minimum age be relaxed to give also younger high school students a chance to come into the company.