Meet the apprentices

Name: André Haugvaldstad
Processing plant: Eramet Norway Sauda
Vocational subject: Logistics

1. How would you describe your first encounter with the workplace and your life as an apprentice?
This is a very good company that not only takes safety seriously, but also offers a lot of good social amenities for its employees. This is something I appreciate very much.

2. How did the transition from school to work life go for you?
In the beginning, I was actually skeptical about working life after going to school. Working at ENS is varied and interesting. The transition, as I see it, was very positive. Generally speaking, you might say that you enter a pleasanter, more adult environment. In addition to getting a job, I moved three hours away from home. Everything was a bit overwhelming at first, but the pleasant environment has really helped. Sauda is a cosy little town, and in my opinion I couldn’t have found a better workplace.

3. Does the training you receive at the plant measure up to your expectations?
Absolutely. I am very satisfied with the training programme they have for apprentices here in this company. They give you a few weeks to become familiar with the people you are going to work with in the department. After that you get a long, grand tour of the company before you return to the department where you will be stationed. You are given plenty of time to learn what you are supposed to do in practice.

4. Do you spend time with your work colleagues during your leisure time, too?
Unfortunately I haven’t really had a chance to do that. I’ve only just become familiar with my department, and I will shortly begin my rotation around the company. I meet a lot of new people all the time. In addition, I am still in the process of getting settled in Sauda. But recently I was on a team-building trip with the other apprentices in the company, and that was very nice.

5. What are your plans for the future, when you have completed your apprenticeship?
For the time being, I am hoping to get a permanent job in ENS after I complete my apprenticeship exam. If I can’t realize that plan, then I think I will probably move back to Stavanger and try to get a job in the oil sector or a logistics-related job outside the Sandnes area, where the cost of housing is more acceptable.

Name: Benjamin Welfler
Processing plant: Eramet Norway Porsgrunn
Vocational subject: Chemical Processing
Specialty: TAF apprentice

1. How would you describe your first encounter with the workplace and your life as an apprentice?
Very nice. I find my colleagues very accommodating, and the working environment is very inclusive.

2. How did the transition from school to work life go for you?
Since I am a TAF apprentice, I still attend school. It is very interesting to be placed in a real company. This way, I get to practise what we learn in school.

3. Does the training you receive at the plant measure up to your expectations?
When I first came here, I had no idea that there were so many details to take into account everywhere, or how important each tiny detail is. But I had expected that there would be a whole lot of information right from the start.

4. Do you spend time with your work colleagues during your leisure time, too?
Sometimes, if we agree while we are on shift to do something later.

5. What are your plans for the future, when you have completed your apprenticeship?
I am hoping to be admitted to NTNU and continue my studies towards becoming a chartered engineer in energy and environment.

Name: Eivind Hunsbedt
Processing plant: Eramet Norway Kvinesdal
Vocational subject: CNC Machine Operator

1. How would you describe your first encounter with the workplace and your life as an apprentice?
It was exciting when I came here for the first time. Lots of interesting tasks were waiting for me.

2. How did the transition from school to work life go for you?
It was a completely new, but very educative experience.

3. Does the training you receive at the plant measure up to your expectations?
Yes, I got good information in advance and am very satisfied with the educational environment as it is.

4. Do you spend time with your work colleagues during your leisure time, too?
Yes. There’s a good social environment here.

5. What are your plans for the future, when you have completed your apprenticeship?
I want to continue my studies – through my job or at a school.

Name: Faisal Abdi Naleye
Processing plant: Eramet Norway Sauda
Vocational subject: Electricity and Electronics

1. How would you describe your first encounter with the workplace and your life as an apprentice?
Exciting. I was curious about what I would find here. And I was a little careful about how I behaved! But my colleagues have made it easier for me to get started.

2. How did the transition from school to work life go for you?
Very enjoyable! As a worker, I feel much more relaxed.

3. Does the training you receive at the plant measure up to your expectations?
Yes. I get good training and varied work tasks that suit me very well.

4. Do you spend time with your work colleagues during your leisure time, too?
Yes, at football practice and during team-building evenings.

5. What are your plans for the future, when you have completed your apprenticeship?
I want to either continue working or take a three-year study course. Haven’t actually made up my mind yet!

Name: Heidi Olsen
Processing plant: Eramet Norway Kvinesdal
Vocational subject: Automation Mechanics
Specialty: TAF apprentice

1. How would you describe your first encounter with the workplace and your life as an apprentice?
It was good. Lots of things were new and different, and very challenging. But there is a very good environment here, so it was easy to fit in.

2. How did the transition from school to work life go for you?
It was a somewhat big transition. At work you have a lot more responsibility – both for the work tasks and for your own learning.

3. Does the training you receive at the plant measure up to your expectations?
Now that I am familiar with the different plants and have become well acquainted with my colleagues, I think that the training programme is good. Now it is much easier to learn and to understand what is expected of me.

4. Do you spend time with your work colleagues during your leisure time, too?
Yes, I spend time with some of them off the job, too. It’s a lot of fun!

5. What are your plans for the future, when you have completed your apprenticeship?
I want to continue my studies, but I’m still uncertain about what I want to study and become. But I will definitely continue studying.

Name: Hilde Glendrange
Processing plant: Eramet Norway Kvinesdal
Vocational subject: Laboratory Technician

1. How would you describe your first encounter with the workplace and your life as an apprentice?
It was very nice! I was given a good welcome – this is a good place to work.

2. How did the transition from school to work life go for you?
I didn’t complete my apprenticeship after I finished the core subjects, so I am an adult apprentice. For many years I worked at a veterinary clinic where I had a lot of responsibility and a fast-paced work day. It was quite a transition for me to begin all over again in a completely new place. It was unfamiliar to me not having the full overview that I had before.

3. Does the training you receive at the plant measure up to your expectations?
My colleagues are good at letting me try things and learn to do them on my own. I have been assigned a number of apprentice projects that I can work with on my own. I learn best by trial and error, working by myself.

4. Do you spend time with your work colleagues during your leisure time, too?
No, I have my own circle of friends from earlier.

5. What are your plans for the future, when you have completed your apprenticeship?
I hope to get the opportunity to work permanently at Eramet Norway Kvinesdal.

Name: Per Kristian Mål Arntzen
Processing plant: Eramet Norway Kvinesdal
Vocational subject: Production Technician

1. How would you describe your first encounter with the workplace and your life as an apprentice?
I was made welcome on the shift I was assigned, so I am very satisfied.

2. How did the transition from school to work life go for you?
Everything went well.

3. Does the training you receive at the plant measure up to your expectations?
Yes, the teaching program suits me well.

4. Do you spend time with your work colleagues during your leisure time, too?
I have some mates who also work in the company, but most of the people I work with are much older than I am.

5. What are your plans for the future, when you have completed your apprenticeship?
I want to study industrial mechanics for a year, and after that I want to apply for a job in the oil industry.

Name: Sondre Heimdal
Processing plant: Eramet Norway Porsgrunn
Vocational subject: Industrial Mechanics

1. How would you describe your first encounter with the workplace and your life as an apprentice?
It was very positive. First I was placed here by the school, and I felt very comfortable right from the start. Then I was accepted as an apprentice here, and I am very satisfied.

2. How did the transition from school to work life go for you?
No problems at all. It is a big difference between working and sitting at a desk in school. I like practical learning much more, instead of only theoretical education.

3. Does the training you receive at the plant measure up to your expectations?
Yes, the training programme is very good here. The employees have a lot of knowledge, and the work tasks are quite varied.

4. Do you spend time with your work colleagues during your leisure time, too?
Yes, we are always finding things to do. It’s brilliant!

5. What are your plans for the future, when you have completed your apprenticeship?
I am going to do everything I can to get a job as a mechanic. I like that job a lot, and above all I would like to continue working here at Eramet.

Name: Tor Sverre Eftestøl
Processing plant: Eramet Norway Kvinesdal
Vocational subject: Construction Machinery Mechanics

1. How would you describe your first encounter with the workplace and your life as an apprentice?
My first encounter with the processing plant in Kvinesdal was good. Life as an apprentice is also enjoyable.

2. How did the transition from school to work life go for you?
It was no problem at all.

3. Does the training you receive at the plant measure up to your expectations?
Yes, generally I am very satisfied.

4. Do you spend time with your work colleagues during your leisure time, too?
I spend a lot of time with them in the workshop, because the employees are all about my age.

5. What are your plans for the future, when you have completed your apprenticeship?
The most important thing for me is to get a permanent job.