To maintain a high quality of medical devices and their manufacturing process, it is key to have competent and experienced staff. In Denmark, there is a negative trend indicating an upcoming lack of educated labour within the iron and metal industry. Therefore, we are proud to invest long-term in the medtech industry, through our trainee program.
Danish industrial operations have difficulties finding new labour
Dansk Metal have conducted a survey among trustees in the industry. The survey shows that a third of the Danish industrial operations have difficulties finding new labour. While the industry struggles to find qualified labour, a fifth of the companies participating in the survey, say they do not work with trainee programs. According to Dansk Metal, big companies that have capacity to hire many trainees, still hire less trainees than the smaller companies do.
Within five years, the iron and metal industry in Denmark will be in need of 20 000 new employees, according to the labours Business Council. The reason is that many employees leave the industry for retirement, while fewer young labour enter the industry. The upcoming lack of labour could mean that workforce will be needed from other countries, outside of Denmark.
Investing long-term in educating labour to maintain a high quality on medical devices
Elos Medtech has trained and educated precision engineers in Denmark since 1975. Five years later, a strategic decision was made to educate and work with trainees. One of the top priorities was to pass on the industry’s know-how to future labour. We started working with trainees for several reasons. It is of high importance to have educated and qualified employees to ensure high quality of medical devices and the manufacturing process. In that way, we see our trainee work as a long-term investment in the company. Another reason for working with trainees is that Elos Medtech feels an obligation to contribute to the future of the profession and its survival. In that way, it is an investment in the medtech industry, as well as a commitment to the community.
Elos Medtech secures the industry’s future through a 4-year trainee program
Today, we have six trainees in our program. Five of them are training to be precision engineers and one of them is training to be an automation mechanic. We use precision engineers in production and automation mechanics for repair and maintenance of our machines. In Denmark, we call our program linked training, since it consists of a four-year education focusing on both theory and practice. We have an education plan to guarantee well-trained and educated labour.
The first two years, the trainee will learn all the fundamental disciplines connected to the profession. This includes for example manual turning, milling, drilling and tool grinding. They will also learn measurement technology, material science and how to use drawing programs. In addition, the trainees will get the chance to work with our engineers, working with mechanical design and different robotic solutions for our automated factory. At the end of the program, the trainee will be trained in computer numerical control (CNC) machining. After that, the trainee will work with an experienced employee in production, where the trainee will learn even more skills in programing and setting the CNC machines. And of course, there are also daily routines, that should not be forgotten. Our trainee program also offer the possibility to visit Elos Medtech in Sweden, China and USA. This is an rewarding experience for our trainees where they can learn about the manufacturing process in another country.
Did you find this article interesting? Do you want to know more about our trainee program, or our social responsibility as a development and production partner? Feel free to contact us, or visit our website for more information.
