Alholmen Industrial Park has taken a significant step forward in effectively communicating the operations and recruitment needs of industries through the AIP-tour. Within the Alholmen Circular Economy Platform (ACEP) project, AIP, together with project manager Åsa Björkman, has managed to build an organized concept for receiving students and other visitors more frequently and in larger numbers than before.
AIP-tour markets job opportunities
The project activities and the regional development company Concordia have had a significant impact on the development of the AIP-tour. The initiative represents an approach to marketing the industry and job opportunities. By offering guided tours of the industrial area, potential employees get a concrete insight into the various industries and their operations.
An insight into industrial operations
The bus tour, which lasts about an hour, is designed to provide concentrated information about the operations of the industries. Participants also get an insight into ongoing circular economy projects.
The tour goes through all the major manufacturing industries in the AIP area. The first stop is OSTP, after which the bus enters the forest industry area where participants get to know UPM’s pulp mill and sawmill, Billerud Finland and Walki, as well as the Alholmens Kraft bio-power plant. The tour then continues to Borgmästargrundet and Northpipe Composite Engineering and Nautor Swan. The tour also goes via Baltic Yachts, Jakobstad Port, and Euroports.
Recruitment needs and career opportunities
The industries at AIP are constantly looking for talents with various skills in both technical development and production. The AIP-tour is an opportunity for the industries to effectively communicate their recruitment needs and attract talents.
Examples of visits
Two groups from the vocational school Optima in Jakobstad have received an information boost about the industries at AIP this autumn. Third-year students, who participate in the course “Working in the Workplace,” received information about the many career opportunities in the industries, both through a lecture and workshop combined with a guided bus tour of the industrial area. A similar arrangement will also be made in October with students from Centria University of Applied Sciences and Keski-Pohjanmaan koulutusyhtymä Kpedu during the RAP (Recruiting Active People) event and on tailored visits for, among others, process engineering students from the University of Oulu and doctoral students from Åbo Akademi’s units in energy technology and information technology.
Development projects drive important themes
The regional development company Concordia in Jakobstad uses development projects to spread new information, test new models and tools, and drive development in various themes that the region’s business community considers important.
-The AIP-tour is a good example of co-creation in projects where industrial tours are combined with workforce needs, and together we try to solve the problem by increasing interest in the AIP area as a workplace, says Concordia’s CEO Daniela Mårtenson.
The AIP-tour is an initiative that benefits the industries and helps strengthen the ties between education, working life, and society. It has been developed by the industries at AIP within the Alholmen Circular Economy Platform project. The concept is established as a product where educational organizers at various stages and, for example, guests from the business world are given the opportunity to come on tailored guided visits to the industrial park.
