Our new apprentices

At Aarbakke we continue our on-going commitment to helping youth into the job market, by accepting 16 new apprentices who will be starting their journey towards a certificate of completed vocational training this year.

The apprentices are well aware that the threshold is high. Only a few of the applicants end up securing an apprenticeship with the Jæren-based industrial company.

Every year, Aarbakke receives approximately 150 applications from hopeful youngsters seeking an apprenticeship. Two years of higher education  is already indicated on their CVs, and they are now ready to put theory into practice.

“We’ve become skilled at choosing the right candidates. It’s not necessarily those with the best grades who are awarded a contract – we also look for qualities such as punctuality and work ethics. We want motivated people who are ready to work hard, and school grades aren’t always the best indicator of this,” Inge Brigt Aarbakke explains. Ingbjørn Apeland, training manager, nods in agreement.

Inge Brigt and Ingbjørn have spent the morning introducing the fresh apprentices to what they can expect in the immediate future. Ingrid Hove (19) and Henrik Due (17) are both from the municipality of Klepp, and both dream of becoming CNC operators.

“I’m absolutely thrilled, and I’m ready to do whatever it takes to get the job done,” says Ingrid, the only girl in the new group of apprentices. Henrik has already completed a short internship at the company, and this proved to be his admission pass to the apprenticeship course.

Based on it’s number of employees, Aarbakke takes on a higher percentage of apprentices than any other company in the county. Of the workforce of 250 people, 27 are apprentices – 11 of whom are in their second and last year of their professional training. In total, almost 200 youngsters have completed their apprenticeships at Aarbakke, one of the largest single-machine companies in Europe.

“There’s an understanding among our ‘old timers’ that we prioritize taking on apprentices. After a year or so with us, they join the three-shift work schedule, which also includes night shifts,” Inge Brigt Aarbakke says.

Of all the apprentices the company has welcomed, not one has dropped out –  and an impressive 90 per cent have achieved the rating “very good”. All the CNC apprentices who have taken the vocational training test have subsequently been offered full-time employment.

From Jærbladet, 9 August 2017