– We have our own internal training programs to build the skills we need. And we are happy to recruit unskilled labor, which we guide towards a professional certificate.

This was stated by the CEO of Bilfinger Norway, Johan Guldbjørnsen, in a panel discussion during Industriuka in Porsgrunn. The moderator's question was whether Bilfinger could recruit skills beyond the traditional channels. The main theme of the debate was: "How do we attract the right people, develop the talents we have – and retain them in a time of rapid technological development?"

Guldbjørnsen is keen for Bilfinger to be visible in society. – One thing is to be part of the agenda set around us, but it is also important to highlight the company and the values we stand for. Bilfinger provides services to other players in the business world.

150 to 200 new employees 

– At Bilfinger Norway, we need to hire between 150 and 200 skilled workers and engineers every year. It is challenging. We recruit in the traditional way from vocational training to apprenticeships and the school system, but we also collaborate with NAV Industritalentene to bring in people who have fallen outside the usual educational path.

Regarding NAV Industritalentene, this is a course organized by NAV Telemark and GREP Grenland (a labor market company). It is developed in collaboration with key industry players, including Bilfinger. The course is for job seekers who want to work in the industry and need to increase their skills to qualify for work in the industrial sector. The course starts with a four-week theoretical pre-course, and the rest is practical training at a company. The course period is a total of 20 to 26 weeks.

I can also mention that we have a good and close collaboration with NAV locally and labor market companies such as the mentioned GREP, as well as Keops in Porsgrunn and Frisk Bris in Bamble. We always have people with us at Herøya or Rafnes in work training or wage subsidies, and this often results in permanent employment afterwards. We want to be a company that takes social sustainability seriously and a company that offers people who, for various reasons, are not in work a new opportunity.

Bilfinger, as mentioned, works broadly to help acquire the skills and resources the company needs. – We also take in unskilled workers, whom we train ourselves. At the same time, we must meet strict requirements from customers, both technically and in terms of safety. This means, in addition to the training itself, that we must also dare to set requirements for those we bring into the company. The candidates must deliver, and this is new in this debate. All employees must set requirements for each other. This results in a vibrant company with interaction and co-creation. When we start to co-create and set requirements, we can achieve things, concluded Guldbjørnsen in his, and the debate's, final statement.