It has now been 22 months since me and my fellow trainee colleagues joined Husqvarna Group, which means there is only a couple of months left for us in this fantastic trainee program. When you stay busy doing challenging and fun things time truly flies!

Johan Sandström

My target position after the program is within Project Management so my two-year trainee plan has been tailored to introduce the tools and exposure that will make me a more capable Project Manager.

Even though each trainee has a tailored plan custom-made for his/her target position, the Husqvarna Group Global Trainee Program is designed to give the trainees a strong network within various departments and to get them exposed to the unique challenges and opportunities different parts of the company face. This, I believe, creates a more holistic view of the business and is essential for creating “Company A-Players” rather than “Department X-Employees”.

I have been changing departments, colleagues, assignments and locations every six months for two years. This means that I’ve constantly had to go outside my comfort zone and challenge myself by learning new tasks, adopting new perspectives and getting to know new people and, to be honest, it can be rather exhausting at times. What I have noticed however, is how extremely rewarding it is and that the learning curve you get is hard to beat.

To make a long story short; before my current assignment I was based in Sweden, where I come from, working with: Project Management, Product Management (Electric products), Global Branding & Marketing and R&D (Handheld products). At the moment I am based in Charlotte, North Carolina, to do my final assignment in our U.S. Project Management Office. I truly enjoy living in Charlotte and working with the team here. I am starting to get a sense of the similarities and differences between managing a team in Sweden and in the U.S and how you sometimes need to adjust your approach in order to get things done depending on what side of the Atlantic you are on.

Training week in Charlotte, USA, in September 2014

In a couple of months I will start a new journey at our Project Management Office in Sweden. There, I will join the Swedish team responsible for delivering large product development projects on time, on budget and according to specification. I am very much looking forward to this new challenge and I feel that my time as a trainee has given me a good balance of confidence and humbleness going into this demanding position.

Given that I am nearing the end of my time as a trainee I would like to take the opportunity to thank the people involved in my program (managers, mentor and colleagues). Your openness in sharing your experiences as well as your ability to encourage, coach and challenge me has been truly invaluable. Thank you.

Johan Sandström
Global Trainee
Product Management & Development
Sweden