Photo: PLEASED PARTNERS:  HR Director of Havyard Group Frank-Levi Kvalsund (left), Chairman Frode Bjørn Forland of Forland Shipping, Principal Anne de Lange, Assistant Principal Jan Kåre Greve and Subject Teacher Jarle Borge of Bergen Maritime Technical School and Vocational College, next to the model of «Lewek Inspector», are all very pleased with the cooperation that has been established. PHOTO: Eilert Munch Lund

 

During the Career Day 2013 in The Grieg Hall in Bergen this week, Havyard and Forland Shipping handed over a replica of a real ship currently being constructed at the Leirvik shipyard in Sogn. Recipient was Bergen Maritime Technical School and Vocational College and the model will together with a package of technical documentation etc. be used by Bergen Maritime in educating students attending maritime courses.

 

Knowledge of new technology

Like other upper secondary schools and university colleges, Bergen Maritime also has a challenge in keeping up with technological developments within an industry where students one day will be employed. The school has therefore approached the maritime industry and shipping companies in order to get the tools needed for up-to-date teaching materials. Havyard and Forland accepted the challenge and will together with Bergen Maritime develop a package of teaching material and learning tools, based on an advanced Havyard 857 subsea vessel currently being constructed at Havyard`s shipyard in Leirvik for Forland Shipping. The model is the first part of the package and will be something specific to display when teaching students new technology. And together with the package of documentation and other teaching tools, it will be simpler for students to absorb the fresh knowledge. The ship model will in addition look good in the building of Bergen Maritime Technical School and Vocational College.

 

Knowledgeable, motivated youths make the difference

- We develop advanced products in a high-cost country and we compete with the whole world, says Frank-Levi Kvalsund, HR Director of Havyard Group. – If we are to continue succeeding we have to work smarter and be more efficient than our competitors. A condition for this is to have competent and motivated co-workers in every segment of our organization. Havyard is therefore focusing heavily on developing the competence of our employees and to link ourselves to the talents that come from various educational institutions.

- When embarking on this project with Bergen Maritime, it is part of providing youths who choose a career within the marine or maritime industry with an opportunity to gain knowledge about the latest in today`s technology. In that way they become more valuable to us and others in these industries the day when they enter the job market. We believe in this project and it is also something we would like to offer other relevant educational organizations, says the HR Director.

 

Bergen Maritime is important for Forland

- Bergen Maritime Technical School and Vocational College is the educational institution that is most important to our shipping company in terms of recruitment, says Frode Bjørn Forland, Chairman and owner of Forland Shipping.

- We will take delivery of our latest vessel from Havyard in November this year and it is important that we get good people with up-to-date competence and skills onboard our new and modern ships. A good mixture of experienced sailors and youths with the latest skills and qualifications gives us continuity and an opportunity to carry on with the Forland culture, as well as providing our customers with top-quality service. We shall offer competitive and innovative solutions for our customers and also show consideration for our employees and surroundings.

- We do hope our cooperation with Bergen Maritime will contribute towards both our shipping company and others getting hold of motivated youngsters with updated qualifications who can carry on the proud shipping traditions of Bergen and the rest of Norway, Forland says.

 

Pleased principal

- We are very pleased about having received a model of this wonderful, modern ship from Havyard and Forland, says Principal Anne de Lange of Bergen Maritime Technical School and Vocational College. – The model will be used frequently during teaching. We also have other models here, but they are quite old. With this top modern replica, we can provide youths with a glimpse of what awaits when they enter working life. I believe this is a good motivating factor for learning even more, says Principal de Lange.

 

Subject teacher Jarle Borge is also enthusiastic about the cooperation with Havyard and Forland. – What is really great is that we receive drawings and specifications in addition to the ship model, and we can use all of these during lessons, says Borge. «Lewek Inspector» is a top-modern vessel. The ship model shows the totality, but if we wish to look more closely at the details of the ship, we have the drawings and specifications in which we can engage the students, says the subject teacher.

 

Havyard best in The Grieg Hall

In the evening after the Career Day in The Grieg Hall, there was a gala dinner for the companies that had a stand, for invited students and other guests. The jury of the organizers voted Havyard as the best company stand amongst nearly 100 other participating companies.

- We use a lot of resources on marketing the exciting careers opportunities in Havyard and the maritime field towards youngsters who are studying, says HR Director Kvalsund. – It is therefore pleasing that the organizers think we have done a good job during the Career Day. There was a major, constant stream of visitors coming to our stand all day and we experienced queues at times from youngsters who wanted to find out more about us.

- It is vital that companies who think competence is important make an effort to market the opportunities youths have within their businesses. It is also important to meet youth in the right arenas. We frequently attend such events as Career Days and this Thursday we are present at another event, the Company Day 2013 at NTNU in Trondheim. – Social media is another arena where it is important for us to be visible and we put emphasis on being there, in particular on Facebook.

- The diploma that proves we were the best company with a stand at Career Day in Bergen is fantastic motivation for us who work with competence development and recruitment in Havyard. And we are already looking forward to gaining more contacts with new and exciting youngsters in Trondheim, concludes a smiling Kvalsund.

  

Key data «Lewek Inspector»:

-          Design:                Havyard 857

-          Length:                110 metres

-          Breadth:               22 metres

-          Deck area:           1000 m2

-          Offshore crane:    150 tonnes

-          Accommodation:   106 persons