Apprenticeship trial at Meyer Turku shipyard

During the spring term, nine second-year welding students from Turku Vocational Institute are taking part in an apprenticeship trial at Meyer Turku Shipyard. The cooperation is part of the LeaderSHIP project led by Turku University of Applied Sciences and co-financed by the European Union. The project involves piloting different kinds of course trials and study implementations related to the needs of the shipping industry.

During the spring, the students will learn welding-related skills, getting the opportunity to do practical work in the shipyard’s production facilities and conditions under the guidance of Turku Vocational Institute teacher Mika Haapalainen and shipyard teachers Aarre Kajari, Teppo Suonpää, Arto Söderblom, Tanel Ruotsalo and Jari Heiti.

In the spring, the teachers will evaluate the students’ performance, for example their demonstrations, with the basic criteria of the degree programme. After the evaluations, the teacher team will discuss the students’ placements in the autumn and where they could get an apprenticeship at the shipyard. The options are plate welding and welding at the various hull departments of the shipyard.

The teachers consider the apprenticeship a good opportunity, its focus on real-life work being a definite benefit. As a result of the trial, personnel at the shipyard will get to see the students’ development and competence over a longer period of time, and the students have the opportunity to elevate their competence to the standard required by production at the shipyard.

– The apprenticeship trial gives students an opportunity to practise doing real-life work, Mika Haapalainen summarises.

Apprenticeship trial produces skilled employees for the shipyard

In just a few weeks’ time, the students’ skills have improved in leaps and bounds, for example when it comes to welding and flame cutting. This improvement is thanks to the students having more time to hone their skills during the apprenticeship trial. The shipyard also has higher quality requirements for welding than school, which makes the students work harder and improve.

The students have also noticed how quickly they have learned things in just a short time. 

– During my time at the shipyard, I have understood my potential and realised that I can do much better than what I thought at school. It makes me motivated to keep studying, says student Alvar Vilkkinen.

The Meyer Turku shipyard is a unique learning environment, giving the students an opportunity to see how large cruise ships are built. Shipbuilding is a complex process, and the students get to learn many different things and at the shipyard since there are plenty of departments, each with their own special features.

– Thanks to the apprenticeship, we’ll have new sharp employees for the shipyard, says Tero Iivonen, training specialist at Meyer Turku.

Working at the shipyard looks good in a CV and teaches work skills

The students participating in the apprenticeship trial all agree that, as a learning environment, the shipyard is more versatile than school. At the shipyard, the students get to do things in practice, and studying is different than at school. The shipyard also has better equipment than the educational institution, and the shipyard gives students more responsibility, which they consider to be a good thing.

The students are satisfied with the level of teaching at the shipyard, saying that they can always get help from the teachers when they need it. In addition, the working conditions at the shipyard halls are clean and the ventilation is good. The students were surprised how tidy the halls are. They have come to find that everyday cleanliness is important, because a tidy environment motivates them to work. The students have even received praise from the hall manager for their tidiness.

The students think that the option to get an apprenticeship at the shipyard in the last year of studies is a very good thing. It gives them an easy start in their careers, and working at the shipyard also looks good in a CV.

Studying at the shipyard helps accumulate work skills, and the students also consider it important to learn adjusting to the rhythm of a workplace: at the shipyard, every morning starts at 7, so the students are practising going to bed early so that they have good energy in the morning. They also find that they have good appetites at the shipyard, since they do a lot of physical work during the day.

The young students have enjoyed studying at the shipyard. Some of students had initially faced shocked reactions about working at a shipyard, but they have discovered that it is a much more pleasant environment than they had expected.

– The shipyard is a much nicer place than we had assumed. It’s not as bad as we thought. They make ships here that no-one else makes anywhere else in the world, the students say.

Aiming for the students to find employment at Meyer Turku after graduation

The aim of the LeaderSHIP project is to design and implement Europe-wide curricula, degree programmes and courses to meet the urgent demand for competence in the maritime industry. The project is developing new implementations and content for the degree programmes and teaching of vocational education and training. The content of the project also includes considerations for the green transition, circular economy, waste reduction and ocean protection.

The Turku Vocational Institute is continuously striving to discover avenues of cooperation and solutions to new challenges and the needs of the changing world of work. The LeaderSHIP project is one example of such efforts, and the project involves several different trials, for example on the challenges of the availability of skilled labour.

Head of Education Mikko Hauninen is closely involved in the implementation of the LeaderSHIP project.

– Our cooperation with the Turku shipyard to develop an apprenticeship system is great for supporting the general development of vocational education and training. We are working closely with the shipyard and its partners, says Mikko Hauninen.

The apprenticeship trial between the Turku Vocational Institute and Meyer Turku combines the basics of the welding degree programme with the requirements of the Meyer Turku shipyard. The trial involves students completing the welding qualifications required by the shipyard and practising welding frame structures, flame cutting and welding standards. The aim is to get as many students as possible an apprenticeship at the shipyard for their third year at the vocational institute. The aim of the trial is for the students to find employment at the Meyer Turku shipyard after graduation.

The apprenticeship trial will be organised again during the upcoming operating period in cooperation with the Meyer Turku shipyard through the LeaderSHIP project. The trial gets a recommendation from the students currently participating in it, the shipyard being a great environment for ambitious students who are eager to start their working life.

Studying at the shipyard requires an active attitude and being able to get out of bed in the morning.  

– If you’re not motivated, it’s not for you, say the students.

Project website: LeaderSHIP for Skills – LeaderSHIP for Skills