Some time ago we had our second seminar week. I and six of my trainee colleagues were responsible for arranging it. And I am really glad that everything worked out without any major crises. Trying to find matching time slots in ours, and the top managements schedules, really is a challenge. But everything went smoothly and all the people we contacted were enthusiastic and really wanted to teach us about their job!  It really is a joy working with helpful people that are passionate about their job, and loves acting as knowledge ambassadors, wanting to spread their wisdom!

During the seminar weeks we learn about our core processes. Last time it was product development, and now we talked both about sales and the order and delivery of our products. It really is a great way of getting the broader picture and to understand more of the company’s total operation. That really is a key success factor. What we get is an understanding of the total consequences of our decisions. You might think that working at R&D doesn’t have much to do with the rest. Or at purchasing or any other place for that matter. But it effects so much. And only when we know the current status, and the total impact of change, we can make the right and objective decisions.

Now, two out of three seminar weeks has pasted. In a way, I am looking forward to the third one. But that also means the end of the trainee program……

Being a trainee means a wide range of work tasks. Me and one of my trainee colleagues have been planning what is called a “Talarforum”, directly translated to speaker’s forum. What we do is that we invite all the old trainees to listen to a speaker talking about a hot topic. Last week we listened to Stas Krupenia talking about the MODAS project that was aired on swedish news some weeks ago. Here you can find the clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4IMOo6KX3Q

The speaker’s forum is a great way of networking with current and former trainees. You never stop marvel at the wide range of work tasks one can have! It really is now it starts, and it starts with you 🙂

The abroad period I mean! As I mentioned before, I am going to São Paulo, Brazil. And last week I booked the flights! The planning of my work there is ongoing and I can tell you that it´s going to be really exciting! I will keep you posted, promise!

One thing that is included in our trainee program is an one week language course to prepare us for the abroad period. The week before my arrival in Brazil, I will be in Cambridge to study english. To make sure that all of us get classes at our level of skill, we have been doing some tests and filling out what we would like to improve. It is going to be an intense week for sure with classes, both single and in small groups. And there will probably be study trips and of course evening activitites as well. We are staying with host families so we will really get the chance to practice our english!

When talking to former trainees, they say that if they have to choose, the abroad period and the language week was the most fun and educational of the whole trainee program. That I am really looking forward to!

Being a trainee means that you automatically build a big contact network when working in different departments and functions in the company. Besides your ordinary work tasks, you should also take the opportunity to meet with people you wouldn’t meet otherwise. Or go on study visits and learn how they work elsewhere in the company, and with what. In many ways, what you do is to devote yourself to tourism. It might take a while getting used to it. But I can assure you that when you do, you will learn so much more! It gives you an holistic view of the business that most other people probably don’t get. At least not in the same way, and probably not as easy.

Tourism in this way could make you a link between different functions within the company. It is not uncommon that you have some kind of knowledge which is of great importance to others. For example, I booked a lunch meeting with a manager at a completely different function in the company, just because I want to understand more. I presented some topics that I wanted to learn more about at that meeting. And guess what, my point of view of what I wanted to talk about turned out to be exactly what they are in need of in their organization right now. Win-win! It feels great to not only learn from others, but also being able to teach others something!

If you ask a previous trainee what he or she had wanted to do differently if they got the opportunity to be a trainee once more, many of them will say that they had wanted to use the time to network more, smarter, or more efficient. This is a hot tip for you, whoever you are. Use your time to network. Book meetings, go out there, talk to people. And if time is of short supply, book a lunch meeting, everyone’s got to eat right? You never know what they can teach you, or what you can teach them for that matter! In many ways, being a trainee is like being a tourist. So, use your time to see as much of “the world” as possible.

Last week was a very interesting week for sure! Not only did I get the opportunity to have lunch with Christopher Podgorski, Senior Vice President Trucks. But I also got to meet a bodybuilder and visited a dealer and the distributor in Sweden.

Wait what, bodybuilder? What does this have to do with work?

As some of you might know, a concrete mixer on a truck as an example is not made by the truck manufacturer, it’s made by a bodybuilder. So a bodybuilder in this case is not the same definition that you can find on Wikipedia (“Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one’s musculature”), it’s a company building bodies for trucks. The world of bodybuilders (haha) is a totally different thing than the modularised world we are used to at Scania. We often compare our product with Lego, and that our strength is that we are the best at combining the Lego parts together in a structured way so that the Lego box does not look like the floor of a messy children’s room. But when it comes to bodybuilding, everything is custom made. So basically, it is like putting Lego, Duplo and building blocks together and expect that it doesn’t fall apart when someone is moving.

The meeting with the bodybuilder didn’t have much to do with my current assignment. But this is one of the advantages with being a trainee – you can join in on meetings and go on study visits just to learn something new even if it is not super relevant to your current tasks. It was a really interesting meeting with a lot of technical discussions. This is definitely a priceless experience for me. You might think that this was not really a big deal, but I insure you that it was! I learned a lot!

Last Friday, all of us trainees were booked to visit the Scania dealer in Kungens Kurva and Scania-bilar Sverige AB which is the distributor in Sweden. At both the dealer and the distributor, we got really good presentations where we could ask lots of questions. And at the dealer we also got a tour of two of the three workshops. If it weren’t for the reason that my trainee colleague is working at the dealer this period and wanted to invite us, we wouldn’t have gotten this great opportunity! Definitely a positive thing with being a trainee.

These visits opened up a whole new world with ways of thinking that me and my fellow trainees will take with us and apply in our other work. For many of us, this was the first introduction to sales strategies and how the actual sales- and service organization works. It was a really educational day!

One thing that I will remember extra strongly are these sayings: “Never stop being a trainee”, “Once a trainee, always a trainee.” The title trainee will disappear, but in that sense that we are changing positions in the company, applying best practice everywhere we go, that we should never stop with. And as I have said before. This is when it starts. Once a trainee, Always a trainee.

The headline of this post seems to be a thing many students are wondering. So I thought I will try to answer it!

When I was still in the university, I almost always had a lunch box with me. Mainly because it’s cheaper than eating out all the time. But since I started at Scania, the lunch box normally stays at home. Partly because it is easier, not having to bring food and cutlery on the train, but also because it still feels “a little luxurious” eating out.

The lunchbox is still with me from time to time, but I don’t feel as tied to it now as I was when I studied. So if you are wondering if the answer is lunchbox or no lunchbox, you don’t need to worry. That’s usually sorted out pretty quickly. You can always ask you colleagues how they normally do. And your first working day you are probably invited to lunch with, and paid by, your manager. I’m not saying that it is like that everywhere, but generally that’s the custom.

So the short answer is, it depends. There really is no answer. Do whatever suits you!

Until next time…. Take care!

Okay, let’s say that you are the next Scania Graduate Trainee 2015. Then you might wonder how your program will be planned?

Well, first of all there is a framework to keep within. For example, we started with six introduction weeks. Every other week we had lectures held by inspiring managers, and every other week we worked in one of the workshops. I assembled V8 engines and helped to assemble the whole cab on the chassis, among other. Besides that I also got to help a production manager with her improvement work – loads of fun!

Then we have four periods of about three months each. The first trainee period will be at one’s home department. I am employed at a section which is divided in several groups. So my first trainee period, I belonged to the group that works with the physical vehicle ergonomics related to the drivers, but not repairmen and assemblers.

I know that various managers have wanted to do the planning of the trainee program in different ways. But in my case I presented my vision with the trainee program, how the knowledge I generate will help me in my future career and what departments I’d like included. As always, I want more than what there is room for… And my managers agreed with me, had the same vision and thoughts. So in many ways, I got to decide most of it on my own. Another thing (among others) that I really like with my managers is that the planning of what I will do after the trainee program is already discussed. And I really hope that I can end my writing at this blog by telling you about my next challenge.

The following three periods will give me more knowledge about our customers, how a Scania truck or buses are sold and experience from both production and purchasing. I will tell you about this continuously in this blog.  You can read about my underground adventures here.

What I wish to convey is that everything exciting and challenging you take on as a trainee does not have to end just because the program does. As I wrote in my last post, this is when it starts. My impression is that opportunities to try something new is always there, you just have to see it yourself, or have people around you who can see what those new things could be. Remember that when you are suited for something, you don’t always have to push it all by yourself.

The application time for Scania Graduate Trainee Program 2015 has run out. I hope that you all applied, and I hope that I have conveyed some kind of piece of the puzzle as to what it might mean to be a trainee. Do not hesitate to ask questions if there is anything you wonder! I’m happy to answer what I can 🙂 To those of you who applied this year: Good Luck to you and I hope I will see you in the fall!

I have always wanted to learn more. It’s like I’m always thirsty for knowledge. So it’s no surprise that when I got the message that I will go to Sao Paulo, Brazil for my abroad period I immediately started a Brazilian Portuguese language course. I mean, I wouldn’t want to work in a country not being able to at least say good morning! Had a nice weekend? A big cup of coffee please. Would you? So now I study a new language during work hours. Well not all of the studying. But the lessons are work, actually learning it I do on my spare time.

Some seem to believe that as soon as you graduate and start working, your learning curve flattens. My experience is the opposite – mine has never been so steep before! What you learned in school is all good, but it’s only the foundation on which you will build all the rest.

To all the graduates reading this: Welcome to the rest of your life! This is when it starts!

Since the beginning of the year, I am no longer working at my home department, Styling and Vehicle Ergonomics. Now I am working at Scania Mining, Sales & Marketing. It really is a fascinating industry and there is so much I have to learn to be able to solve my assignment! And therefore, I was on a business trip last week. Me and two of my colleagues visited one of the world’s largest underground mines. Malmberget is located in Gällivare in the north of Sweden. Already when arriving at the airport, you know that you have come to the right place for mining.

Much of this visit fascinated me. And I am not only talking about the temperature differences above ground (-27) and underground (+18). In some strange way, being 1250 meter underground felt totally natural! 1250 meter is a long way. Imagine how huge a skyscraper would be if it was 1250 meters high! Life underground can be compared to a skyscraper, because even 1250 meters underground there is a restaurant. And the offices and staff rooms look like if they were in a “real house”. It is like being in any other office. Though with the difference that in this office you have to carry a personal transmitter with you all the time. And that small difference that you have no daylight down there. And the fact that you have to wear a protective helmet, and steel toe boots. Another thing that we noticed is how quickly you lose references to where you are. A slope with an incline of maybe 15 degrees quickly feel like 5-6 degrees, since you have no references to what is 0 degrees.

With all these passages and various plateaus in the mine, it is very easy to not have a clue of where you are. But of course there are directional signs. They do not always look like we are used to. Sometimes it’s a sign, sometimes it’s something written on a wall and in some places there is a stick man or another drawing on the wall that helps one to at least remember that one has been there before. And to show up with a mobile phone that is not operated by Telia and think that you will be able to communicate down there will only disapoint you. In other words, don’t get lost! You can’t call for help! 😉

Going on a business trip like this one is invaluable. You learn so much new that will be useful not only in the workplace. My head is now filled with new knowledge about mining, logistics, how our trucks are used and knowledge about our customers. I have met our heroes, and I mean not only the Scania’s heroes, I mean ours, everyone’s. Those who spend their working life 1250 meters underground, and are providing the world with what we need so that we can continue to build bridges and houses. For if it were not for them, and all others who work in the mining industry, the world would not look like it does today, and it would not continue to develop. You cannot even nail together some planks without mining! Where do you think the nails come from? We would not be able to talk to each other on the phone or send an email without it. Much in our world starts somewhere in the soil, with the people and machines that dig up minerals that we build our lives with. Much of the world starts with mining and that is something that you normally don’t think of, right?

There is something special to stand there in the mud, one kilometer underground and feel the power when the wheel loader fills the truck bed with 50 tons of ore. If there is any time a truck is pushed to its limits, it’s when it is driven off road, with overload, up and down in steep hills.

I left Gällivare even prouder. This is what we do. This is Scania.

Can you imagine designing a passenger car and not having a driving license?

Would you want to buy a car from someone that has never even driven one?

I don’t think it’s a surprise that my answers to that is I for sure cannot and No.

Some people have wondered why I now have driving license for heavy truck with heavy trailer (“långtradarkörkort” as some say in Sweden).  Well, how can you make sure that you make the right decisions when it comes to visibility, manoeuvring, engine performance or durability? How can you meet our heroes, the drivers, and talk with them about their profession if you do not know what it takes? And how can you be sure that the parts you are responsible for in purchasing are good enough for the sometimes really tough conditions that they are exposed to?

As a Scania-trainee you are offered to take C or CE driving license, depending on where you are employed. In my case, I was offered CE. Have you seen the books for heavy truck, bus and heavy trailer? I can tell you they are huge. Maybe they are designed to match the type of license? HEAVY truck, HEAVY trailer…

You are not allowed to take the tests for CE before you have driving license for C. And for C you have to pass a theory test, and a driving test with a pretty big security check where you have to be able to both perform the check and answer questions regarding what you did, why and how some parts of the truck works. You have to be able to drive in city traffic, on the highway and reversing to a loading dock. And then for CE you have to pass another theory test, an even larger security check, reversing in different ways corresponding to how you back up to a loading dock or park in a garage – all of this even before you are allowed to show the person responsible for your test that you can drive in traffic as well. That’s a lot of steps to pass to get the license. But oh they joy when you do! And now, when I have it, I miss the continuity of driving that I had with my driving lessons! I want to be driving more, and more often! It’s so much fun!

Now when I see a truck, I am not only getting that wow trucks are awesome-feeling and that feeling that I am proud of what we do, and what we accomplish. Now I also get the feeling of how fun it is to drive and I’m mightily impressed by how incredibly skilled truck drivers are!

Stay tuned!