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New project addresses the training needs of industrial companies in and around Tampere

Published on 17.5.2022
Tampere University of Applied Sciences
People discussing at the table.
Educational establishments and companies are working together to address the talent shortage facing the manufacturing industry in the Tampere region. The goal is to provide industrial companies with centralised access to the continuous learning services offered by vocational schools and higher education institutions.

The Central Finland Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment has awarded funding for the development of a new service model for industrial companies that cuts across institutional boundaries. The project titled Yrityslukkari - tulevaisuuden kestävät osaamismallit is conducted by Tampere University of Applied Sciences (TAMK), Tampere Adult Education Centre (TAKK) and Tampere University.  The project, which will continue until 2023, is carried out to create a collaboration model that cuts across conventional institutional boundaries between educational establishments and promotes a holistic approach to providing continuous learning services to industrial companies.

According to the new model, designated contact persons will identify the best continuous learning solutions among the range of services offered by educational establishments. In addition, new training programmes will be developed by conducting joint training experiments to meet the specific needs of each customer company.

“We will create a regional brokerage model to address the talent shortage facing manufacturing companies and promote professional development among their staff,” says Project Manager, Docent Jari Ruokolainen of Tampere University of Applied Sciences.

“We not only need to make training opportunities easily available to staff but also provide companies with comprehensive support for continuous learning. Skills needs are changing rapidly in the manufacturing industry, partly because the industry is taking urgent action to combat climate change,” points out Aleksi Arpiainen, Chair of the Project Steering Committee and CEO of Tampereen Tiivisteteollisuus Oy.

The designated contact persons will keep a close eye on the training needs of industrial companies and make suitable training solutions easily and flexibly available. The brokering approach and the partner network will be developed in close collaboration with companies participating in the pilot project.

“The collaborative model will enable companies to implement new technologies and allow us to address the challenges brought on by the transformation of the world of work as we live in an age where operational landscapes are changing rapidly due to climate change and uncertainty looms because of the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic and especially the war in Ukraine,” Ruokolainen says.  

The project is carried out by TAMK, Tampere University and Tampere Adult Education Centre. The collaborative network also includes Tampere Vocational College Tredu, Business Tampere, Pirkanmaan Yrittäjät, the Union of Professional Engineers in Finland and a number of local SMEs in the manufacturing industry. The project is funded by the European Social Fund (ESF).

New pilot companies are welcome to join the project.

 

Inquiries

 

Jari Ruokolainen, Project Manager, Industrial Engineering Unit, Tampere University of Applied Sciences, jari.ruokolainen [at] tuni.fi

Aleksi Arpiainen, Chair of the Project Steering Committee, Tampereen Tiivisteteollisuus Oy, Aleksi.Arpiainen [at] tt-gaskets.fi

 

Text: Annamari Karjalainen

Picture: Schutterstock