Three-year project with ninth class students successfully completed

The project "Trampolinen" (= the Springboard) was initiated by the East Swedish Chamber of Commerce in 2008. The purpose of the project is to promote students' interest and knowledge of the working life and of technology, before making their future choices of education and occupation.  The idea is also that the project should help improve the regional competence provision in the long run, and at the same time increase the understanding and cooperation between schools and industries in the region.

Class 9E from Djäkneparksskolan in Norrköping has followed and studied Alstom closely for three years. We have had various activities together with the 28 pupils; the class has visited us at our office and we have been at their school and given different lectures. During spring 2011, the pupils have worked on a number of projects and on 19 May they visited us together with a representative from the East Swedish Chamber of Commerce, to present their findings.

"The pupils have been very interested and committed to the project and have asked many clever questions that we needed to give some thought before answering. They have also shown great ability in searching and finding information on the internet and compiling the facts", says Edward Ramsten, Tranining Manager, Alstom Power Sweden AB.

Alstom's commitment as a company sponsor is based on a growing concern at the decreasing number of students who choose technical educational programmes. To us it's about securing the transfer of competence for the future, so that our business and knowledge base will be able to grow and develop in Sweden.  We want to help the pupils get a better understanding of what happens next, after school, when you are grown up and get into the working life. We want to show what a modern high-technology workplace looks like, how it works, what demands and requirements  there are, and the professional roles that exist. Our employees have shared their experiences of working in an international environment and the challenges they meet in their work. In this way we hope to interest the youth in continue their studies with an increased awareness of what possibilities and options that are available in the labour market in the years to come.