Ten years ago, Tommy Abrahamsen Kåsene received his professional certificate as a plastic mechanic. Now, the 29-year-old works as a coordinator in the plastic workshop, with technical and financial responsibility for large projects.
– I didn't really want more responsibility than being a foreman, but then I was challenged to try new tasks. It was a huge boost to my confidence when I was a site manager for a large project for the first time. It was important to me that I gained the trust of the management. I enjoy being a coordinator very much, but I'm not opposed to working more with design and planning.
A different path to training
Tommy did not follow the standard path of two years in school and two years as an apprentice in a company.
– My contact teacher in middle school asked if I wanted to talk to someone at Croftholmen VGS, where they had a project called 'From Talent to Skilled Worker'.
The project was intended to help school-weary 15-16-year-olds with good practical skills towards a professional certificate. The training was to take place through a four-year apprenticeship in an industrial company.
Tommy took that conversation and became part of the project. – I went to school one to two days a week, where we had the mandatory subjects. The rest of the time, I received vocational training at the Plastverkstedet at Bilfinger.
From certificate to career
– My goal during the training was primarily to get a professional certificate and then hope for a permanent job. Fortunately, it went well, and I quickly got more and more responsibility.
After about a year, Tommy got to try his hand as a foreman on jobs that the management knew he could handle. The plastic mechanic was responsible for projects that lasted a week or sometimes longer.
Eventually, Tommy was given responsibility for larger projects. The first major project was to line an old water tower with plastic. Eidsberg municipality originally wanted to demolish the tower from the 60s and build a new one. Instead, the elevated reservoir was completely rehabilitated. Plastverkstedet did the job of lining the reservoir with PE plates, and Tommy was the site manager.
– It was the first time anyone had done something like this in Norway, so the task was both challenging and educational, says the plastic mechanic. – It was my first major project, and not long after, I was the site manager for a construction project at Glencore in Kristiansand.
Learning independence
– These were travel jobs, and the project management was based in Porsgrunn. I had to work independently and find solutions. But that's how it is at Plastverkstedet. If you show interest and dare to take a chance, you can get such tasks. With a professional certificate as a foundation and the necessary competence, you are thrown into larger tasks, and you just have to give it a try, says Tommy.
It must have yielded some good results because the 29-year-old from Porsgrunn was asked in 2021 to become a coordinator and work with customer follow-up. Now he is out looking at new jobs, ordering materials, and following up on projects. He also handles invoicing and is responsible for the finances of the deliveries. – I coordinate the jobs with responsibility for both progress and finances, explains Tommy. – There is a lot of work in following up subcontractors, material deliveries, and documenting the work being done. It is my job to document the plastic welds of the guys out in the field, and I create inspection reports.
Staying hands-on in the workshop
The coordinator must constantly keep himself professionally updated, and he is down in the workshop several times a day.
– Sometimes I lend a hand in the workshop when needed, even though most of my job now is to follow up on others' work. But I haven't forgotten the trade. When I need to explain something or teach something, I like to do the job partly myself because I find it fun.
