The construction of the 18-kilometre-long submerged tunnel between Rødbyhavn and Puttgarden is in full swing. And so is the effort to achieve the ambition of training 500 apprentice-years on the project.
Takes responsibility seriously
– The construction industry has a great responsibility to contribute to training the qualified workforce of the future, and we, as Femern A/S, take that responsibility seriously. That is why we have set the ambitious goal that the contractor consortia must train a minimum of 500 apprentice-years during the construction period for the Fehmarn connection. And they are off to a very good start, says Emilie Juel-Helwig, director of sustainability at Femern A/S in a press release from the company.
The contractor consortium Fehmarn Link Contractors, FLC, is to train 470 apprentice-years, while the remaining approximately 30 are distributed among Fehmarn Belt Contractors, FBC, and Fehmarn Systems Contractors, FSC.
Over half are local
An estimate shows that the Fehmarn project attracts apprentices from large parts of the country, while more than half of the apprentices are from the local area.
– We are thus helping to train the workforce of the future in large parts of the country, and at the same time, we are helping to train many young people in the area where we are actually building the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel. We currently have around 64 full-time students from 12 different vocational courses, including office trainees, process operators, electricians, technical designers, warehouse and logistics trainees and building and construction engineers, says Charlotte Lie Steen, apprentice manager at FLC.
Office on the construction site
22-year-old Frederik Svarre Roed from Nysted was employed as an office trainee at FLC in September.
– I have an office on the factory construction site and am reminded daily of how fantastically large a project I am a part of. I have also already been given a greater responsibility than I had dreamed of, but not greater than that I can always ask a colleague, says Frederik Svarre Roed.
International environment
In the office, the environment is international, and English is often spoken.
– I have colleagues from, among other places, Panama, France and Germany, and it is very exciting to learn more about their culture. In addition, I also gain good language skills, as most of the communication takes place in English. It was an upheaval at the start, but now I no longer think about the fact that much takes place in English, says Frederik Svarre Roed.
FLC expects to employ more apprentices in the coming months and years, the company writes in the press release.
