Viking Malt offers all employees at Lahti Site a possibility to up-date their own professional competence in connection with the Finmalt project. Training package is tailored for Viking Malt’s needs together with the local co-operation partner, Occupational Training Center Salpaus. 
The participants will get an official partial degree of Process Industry.
The apprenticeship training for Viking Malt personnel has started officially in our premises. In practice the lectures are given by the teachers from Salpaus. The contents and structure of the training has been developed to support Viking Malt personnel in the transition to the new Finmalt Malting house. The basis of the training are the present Viking Malt management systems, operations and functions. The training contains quite wide selection of different topics, like operational safety, food safety, CSR, quality standards and Lean Systems. It also promotes continuous life-long learning experience and ability to handle and adjust to changes.
This training as a whole is a part of process industry basic examination. The apprenticeship training allows the participants to study flexibly as a part of their own work.
Learning new things and being curious leads us forward and supports us in the change
– Apprenticeship training together with Salpaus was the best alternative for us to give this wide training program to our personnel alongside their work. The training period is nearly one year long and the face-to-face sessions are arranged at Viking Malt premises in Lahti. When our new malting house starts its operations, early 2023, we want to be sure that our personnel has all the needed skills and qualities to operate in the new factory environment. Salpaus apprenticeship training has a significant role in this as well as our own internal workshops and trainings, tells Liisa Sipilä, HR Manager at Viking Malt Oy.
– A large group of Viking Malt personnel has decided to participate in the apprenticeship training, which is most positive. Our path towards the new maltings is full of changes and learning of new skills and know-how. Especially it will be large scale change of our operational culture towards new safety, quality and productivity culture. I hope that all participants will receive help and support in their own development and learn how to use f ex Lean work tools in a new way, describes Kimmo Hietanen, Finmalt Project Director.
– Continuous learning and curiosity towards new things are the basis of our development both as persons and as an organisation. The new factory and new operational environment will offer us a huge amount of new challenges. One of the most important targets of this training is to develop and strengthen our readiness for changes alongside the new occupational skills we will have, say Sipilä and Hietanen.
Training was a positive surprise
– The training tailored for us became concrete to our whole operative personnel after the first training days. This training package offered to us by Salpaus has been a great investment and long planned effort where we have used the expertise of our own specialists through the whole organisation. I must admit that the first training day was full of excitement for me, but the feed-back received afterwards has been excellent! – says Sipilä.
Kimmo Hietanen tells that the contents of the training package were a positive surprise and it will support excellently the challenges and targets the personnel will meet in the new environment. The training possibility has been very well received by our people, which tells about a real interest in learning new things and willingness to participate in this big change towards the new malting house.
– At first some excitement could be sensed, but it vanished quickly after the start. We have a group of people who discuss and work together very well. From the teacher’s point of view the best thing is that the training is not only a monologue of the teacher. Through real discussions and dialogue the participants identify their own capabilities and can support each other in the learning process, says Tanja Koli, Teacher of Process Industry from the Salpaus Further Education.
Positive feed-back from the participants
– After the first weeks feed-back was gathered from the participants. The feed-back was most positive and the start has even exceeded expectations. The beginning is always very important and this success gives us good directions into the futre, says Sipilä.
– I really hope, that we can continue in this good spirit! Meaning that all who started have the strength to continue and that our spirit keeps as high as it is now, says Koli.
