Global Graduate IT – My Journey


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Hej Hej and Servus, my name is Alex and I’ve joined SKF’s Global Graduate Program in September 2018. Let’s take a look at this exciting journey step by step.

I’m originally from a mid-sized town located in the southern part of Germany. In summer 2018, I graduated from the Julius-Maximilian’s University in Würzburg with a master’s degree in business information technology (Wirtschaftsinfomatik). While waiting for my final grades, I started to look around for possible job opportunities all over Germany.

At that moment I did not have a strong focus on a particular company, but what I was sure about, is that I wanted to work in an international environment and within the IT field.

During this time, I was on my way to visit a friend in the close by city of Schweinfurt. Coming from the highway, you can’t miss seeing SKF Germany’s HQ from afar, especially because it is written with huge letters on the building!

Source:pbp SKF Germany HQ in Schweinfurt, Germany

That was the moment, when SKF crossed my mind. The next day I sat down and started my research about the company, and what a lucky coincidence! Right at that time, they were looking to fill a Global Graduate position in the IoT Development team in Schweinfurt. I sent my application the same day and just a few days later I received an e-mail with an invitation for the first interview.

The first interview was with an HR representative as well as my future manager. The whole conversation as well as the atmosphere were friendly and relaxed, yet professional.

That day I left the interview with a good feeling and just a few days later I was invited for the second interview with some representatives from the Global Graduate Program in Sweden via Skype.

After this skype meeting, there was a third and final meeting with the local HR, as well as with the manager of IoT Technologies. A few days later I received the final job offer.

Introduction Month

The trainees and I spent the first month at the HQ in Gothenburg, where we met the whole top management team. We also had a factory tour to understand our manufacturing process, in addition to several sessions on the company setup and strategies. All in all, the introduction month was a great opportunity to meet the other trainees and start creating a network within the company.

First Rotation

I started my first rotation in my home unit; IoT-Development, in Schweinfurt Germany. In our project, we were working on a solution for Machine-to-Cloud connectivity. Besides that, I was involved in designing a concept for the service and operation model for the factories and the IT organization to support the industry 4.0 approach.

It was a great experience working with such a nice, professional and extremely knowledgeable team. They were supporting me along the way and I’ve learned a lot of new skills and topics. One of the highlights of my rotation was the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Summit in Berlin, where we joined with the whole team listening to different sessions about Cloud Computing.

AWS Summit Berlin 2019

Time passed by really quickly and just a few days after the summit, I was on a plane headed to Sweden kick start my second rotation in SKF’s Headquarters.

Second Rotation

Currently I’m in my second rotation in the Business Process Solutions team, working on a Robot Process Automation (RPA) initiative. Setting up a digital workforce will increase efficiency and allow my colleagues to focus on other important tasks. Working with different stakeholders from different departments is sometimes challenging but also really rewarding once we can present results and create value. I really enjoy working in the new team and getting more insights on SKF as a company.

What’s next?

In September I will head to Canada, to support the Digitalization team there for 5 months and learn more about SKF’s Digitalization strategy. I’m looking forward!

Being with SKF for now eight months, I am sure that I took the right decision to join this company. An intercultural and truly global company with demanding and diverse projects which allows me to grow and take responsibility.

I hope this post gave a small insight to my trainee journey with SKF! If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

Cheers und bis bald 🙂

Alex

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Rain, red brick houses and fitted carpets, guess where I am…?


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…In northern England, more precisely in a small town called Darlington. My name is Caroline Lilja,  I’m a Global Trainee within Sourcing, and I moved here a week ago to start my second rotation in the UK Sourcing team. Very exciting!

The last few weeks have been a lot about meeting new people and traveling. I have been in Germany for our second Training Module and as mentioned, I just moved to the UK for my second rotation.

Training Module in Germany

As you might know, between each rotation, we have a training week in one of Husqvarna Group’s main sites. This time we got to visit Ulm, Gardena’s headquarter. The module typically consists of a lot of interesting presentations from different areas within the company performed by senior managers, former trainees and other amazing colleagues. The week in Ulm also offered some practical exercises like Lego simulation, project management training and, last but not least, nice food and great company! The top two things during the week was according to me, the LEGO simulation and the cooking event. The LEGO simulation is a fun activity about continues improvements and we as a group did really well! It’s so much fun to work with bright and driven people! We also got the opportunity to challenge our ability to cooperate when we, one night, attended a cooking class. We were supposed to cook a three-course dinner for 15 people… But honestly speaking, I think the real chef cooked all the food and we just messed around in the kitchen ;).

Happy team after the LEGO simulation!
Dinner with my boys!
Cooking event in Ulm!

Second rotation in the UK

After the week in Ulm, I did a quick touch down in Sweden to finish up some work and then I went straight to the UK for my second rotation. In the UK we make, according to me, our coolest product. The robotic lawnmower! And wow! The UK office have really welcomed me and from day 1, I’ve felt like I’m a part of the team. Of course, it is a bit overwhelming to move to a new country, leaving the safe ground in Sweden to explore something new. But that really triggers me, and I think it’s good to step outside your comfort zone from time to time to experience new sides of yourself. Sometimes you just have to throw yourself into the unknown and see what happens. To wrap up my first week in the UK, I went out for a typical British pub crawl with my fantastic colleagues from the office, see picture below.

Pub crawl in Durham

Professional skills and personal development

For me the trainee program is not just a great opportunity to develop my professional skills, I also get the possibility to travel around the world to learn from different cultures and to meet great new friends! This program gives me an opportunity to grow as a person and to step outside my comfort zone. Husqvarna Group is a company that understands how important it is for people to grow, not just professionally but as an individual. I’m so glad that I got this amazing opportunity.

Until next time, take care :)!

Regards,

Caroline

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25 % av traineetiden har passerat


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Hej hej!

Jag heter Josephine Hedman och är en av årets fyra traineer på Swedavia. Som rubriken lyder har ungefär en fjärdedel av min tid som trainee på Swedavia passerat och jag tänkte med detta inlägg berätta om mina projekt samt allmänt om traineeprogrammet. Som Elias skrev i sitt inlägg i november (klicka här för att läsa det) har vi traineer olika inriktningar och jag har förmånen att tillhöra koncernenheten Security and Safety. På min enhet jobbar vi med frågor som berör olyckor, tillbud, terrorism och hot. Dessutom jobbar vi med informationssäkerhet samt risk- och krishantering.

En av de bästa delarna med att vara trainee på Swedavia är att du får möjlighet att arbeta i projekt inom väldigt spridda områden – vilket är något jag redan under mina första månader har fått prova på. Dels har jag och min traineekollega William, medverkat i ett projekt för vår innovationsavdelning och ”benchmarkat” Swedavia mot andra ledande flygplatser i världen inom innovation och digitalisering. Vidare har jag varit delaktig i ett projekt som Nationellt Test och Kontroll Center (NTKC) utfört på Luleå Airport med syfte att undersöka lösningar för att möta nya regelkrav från EU gällande röntgenmaskiner. Förutom dessa två projekt som slutfördes precis innan jul har jag två mindre projekt som rullar på under hela traineeåret. Dessa faller in under min avdelning Security and Safety. Det ena projektet handlar om att uppdatera kontinuitetsplanen för säkerhetskontrollen, eller ”plan b om allt skiter sig” som en av mina kollegor så välvårdat uttrycker det. Det andra projektet handlar om informationssäkerhet och klassificering av våra system utifrån tre perspektiv: sekretess, riktighet och tillgänglighet. Förutom dessa två pågående projekt kommer vi nu till våren att starta upp två projekt med säkerhetsavdelningen på Arlanda – vilket jag verkligen ser fram emot. Båda projekten berör säkerhetskontrollen. Det ena handlar om logistik och förbättring av flöden och det andra är ett test som ska utföras vid säkerhetskontrollen.

Utöver att jobba i projekt består traineeprogrammet av mycket nätverkande och även studiebesök ute på våra flygplatser. Senast i början av december besökte vi Elias, traineekollegan i Göteborg. Under besöket fick vi bland annat träffa flygplatsdirektören på Landvetter, gå en ordentlig rundtur i terminalen samt besöka flygplatsens brandstation. Nedan ser ni några bilder från vår dag på Landvetter.  

Hela traineegänget och Charlotte Ljunggren, tidigare flygplatsdirektör på Landvetter
Rundtur i terminal
Elias, Agnes och William på brandstationen

Med dessa bilder säger jag tack för mig!

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One company, endless possibilities


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8 Months and counting, Experience from SKF Sweden, Finland, Indonesia and Brazil
Olá para everyone! My name is Benjamin and I’m composing this small update from our factory located near the rainforest in Brazil. As a Global Trainee in SKF my new challenge is distributed across Latin America where I’m learning how we are handling our customer interaction and how to identify their needs, my next stop is SKF Chile!

A fish out of the water, from robotic to software
Working at the software centre in Gothenburg, Sweden was for sure an exciting and challenging first rotation. As a mechanical engineer previously researching robotics, my jar was empty, but to be challenged in a true agile environment suited me well. I had the opportunity take a Product Owner Certificate which helped me to assist the development of the agile framework. To receive such working experience and have the possibilities to challenge the status quo in such a big global company is very exciting!

A responsibility for the future
Managing the SKF Remote Presence had for sure been the most challenging and developing part of my journey, and still is. I’m fortunate enough to be working with state of the art technologies within digital communication, augmented and virtual reality. This technologies is used to enhance the internal and external communication. Example: the reduction of cost/time related to travel, and the increase of the operation up-time by solving disturbances faster. I consider this to be of key importance for a more efficient and sustainable future.

Over and out,
Benjamin von Schmuck

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Början på ett nytt äventyr som IT-trainee


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Monir

Hej allihopa!

Mitt namn är Monir Khan, 25 år och boende i Jönköping. Jag har en kandidatexamen i mjukvaruutveckling från Högskolan Kristianstad och jag har läst ett antal kurser inom mjukvaruutveckling på Kungliga Tekniska högskolan. Min passion är att utveckla applikationer som sticker ut på IT-marknaden när det gäller kreativitet, affärsnytta och prestandaeffektivitet. Mina största intressen är teknik, sport, meditation och anime-serier.

Som person är jag nyfiken, pratsam och sällskaplig. På fritiden tycker jag om att umgås med vänner och familj,  titta på youtube samt anime-serier, promenera i naturen eller läsa tidning. Jag är alltid redo för sport, humanitära aktiviteter och äventyr av alla slag.

Det har snart gått två veckor sedan starten av traineeprogrammet. Jag känner redan nu att man trivs otroligt bra och att man känner sig välkommen här. Mina trainee-kamrater är trevliga och vi har en bra sammanhållning i gruppen tycker jag. Vi fick mycket hjälp från vår handledargrupp, faddrarna, programkoordinator och chefer från olika avdelningar och jag ser fram emot att lära mig mer av deras erfarenheter inom Jordbruksverket och IT-branschen.

Jag ser fram emot resten av traineeperioden!

 

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Make every day Count!


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Whenever we thought about a trainee program the first definition on our minds could be “development and challenge”.

I can say that after almost 6 months as a Global Trainee in such an international organization those 2 Worlds are just the beginning to start describing the full experience this has represented for me.

Every day I feel like taking advantage of new learning possibilities I may face during meetings, projects, ideas, or small talks I may have with my colleagues, I feel this 2 years are running so fast and we need to appreciate and take every challenge as an opportunity to be better tomorrow.

Yesterday I was starting my first rotation, meeting all the trainees in the different functions and taking our introduction module together. Today they are already excellent friends, we have shared a lot of fun activities and I am closing this first part to begin the second assignment with the same or even more enthusiasm as the first one.

Only thing left to say is “Enjoy every day of this experience, because soon we will be looking behind us and see how much we have grown from it”.

 

 

1st. training module – Sweden

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My first trainee placement: Marketing Communications


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I spent my first three-month trainee placement at my home department: Marketing Communications. The main responsibility of this department is to develop global marketing communication strategies for trucks, buses, engines, services, and parts. The strategies are, then, transformed into tactical marketing activities and tools, such as web campaign sites, brochures, advertisements, direct marketing material, videos, promotional items and graphical guidelines for marketing communication material. A typical activity is the preparation for international trade fairs, such as the IAA in Hanover, the IFAT in Munich, the Dubai International Boat Show or Busworld in Kortrijk. Another main task at Marketing Communications is to continuously update the brochures of our products and services.

However, my very first marketing project was a little bit different: I was responsible for coordinating the production of the Scania 125 year campaign book. This year, Scania celebrates its 125th anniversary and many activities are planned throughout the year 2016 in order to celebrate this special occasion. The campaign book summarizes the background, marketing strategy, core message, and target groups for the Scania 125 year project. Furthermore, it provides an overview over the marketing material that is being produced for the anniversary, such as posters, roll-ups, videos, promotional items etc..

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I realized very quickly, that the daily work at Scania is very cross-functional. This was no different with my project. In order to coordinate the project, I had to meet with various departments at Scania to collect all information necessary for the campaign book. Hence, I met with colleagues from the department of Corporate Relations, Event & Exhibition, Employer Branding, Parts & Services (Vehicle Accessories and Branding Products) and Business Support (Image Desk). We decided to develop a Scania 125 year logotype in different variations, which was then printed on different promotional items, such as flags, T-shirts, umbrellas, key rings, mouse pads, pins, pens, mugs, balloons, and chocolate. Furthermore, we designed posters, roll ups, wall banners, and produced a video together with an external advertising agency. Once the campaign book was written, it was published internally to all Scania distributors in the world. The distributors could, then, decide by themselves which marketing material they want to use locally in order to celebrate Scania’s 125th anniversary.

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All of us trainees have spent a period abroad at a Scania distributor this year. I always got very excited when my trainee colleagues sent me pictures of Scania 125 year marketing material that is used at a Scania distributor, for instance, in Brazil or Holland. It is great to see that the marketing material, which I helped to design, is used all over the world to celebrate Scania’s 125th anniversary!

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Getting my heavy truck driver’s licence


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Each year, Scania offers its trainees to take the heavy truck licence (C-licence). With the C-licence, you are authorized to drive any kind of truck, regardless of its weight. Since I got my driver’s licence for passenger cars in Germany, I had to exchange my German driver’s licence into a Swedish “B-licence” at the Swedish transport agency, first.

During the introduction weeks of the Scania Graduate Trainee Program last summer, we spent two days at “Grönlunds”, which is a driving school for heavy trucks and buses. We attended theory lessons, in which we repeated basic traffic rules and learned more about truck-related regulations, such as restrictions concerning “driving and rest periods”. We also learned the use of a digital tachograph. In addition, we were given a heavy folder and several smaller brochures, which we had to study for the theoretical exam. It was quite a challenge to read and memorize all the material in Swedish in the evening, after having stood at Scania’s assembly lines all day long.

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On the day of the theoretical exam, I was very nervous. The exam is a computer-based test and is comprised of 60 questions, which have to be answered within 40 minutes. Five of the 60 questions are so-called “test questions”, which means that it does not matter if these questions are answered correctly. However, you do not know if the question you are trying to answer is a “real question” or a “test question”. Hence, 44 out of the 55 “real questions” have to be answered correctly in order to pass the theoretical exam. After 40 minutes, a note on the computer screen showed me that I had just passed the theoretical exam for my heavy truck licence. I was extremely relieved and proud, when I saw that message.

A few weeks later, I completed the practical exam with a 18t Scania truck. First, I had to perform a security check on the truck. Furthermore, I had to answer a few questions and calculate how much payload I could have on different roads, depending on the road classification (BK1, BK2, BK3). Afterwards, I had to prove my driving skills on the highway, as well as in rural and urban areas. Besides, I had to reverse the truck around a corner, and I also had to park the truck backwards against a loading bay, so that 10cm of the tailgate were placed on the loading bay, when opening the tailgate. After 45 minutes, the examiner told me that I had passed the practical exam and congratulated me on my heavy truck licence.

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The workshop practice


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The three-week workshop practice, which is part of the six-week introductory program at Scania, was one of the activities that I had been looking forward to the most since I signed my working contract with Scania. It takes place in August and September each year and is part of the introduction program for the newly recruited trainees.

There are three production facilities in Södertälje: bus and truck chassis, axels and gearboxes, and engines. The aim of the workshop practice is to obtain first-hand experience of how Scania’s products are assembled and to get an insight into the daily work flow at the production lines.

Due to safety reasons, the regulations concerning what clothes or shoes to wear when working at the assembly lines are very strict. Therefore, each trainee was given a pair of safety shoes on our first day at Scania. Furthermore, we all received a workshop outfit, consisting of work trousers, T-shirts and a sweater.

I still remember the moment, when I entered the chassis production facility for the first time. There was so much happening simultaneously that I did not know where to look first. The factory was surprisingly clean and light, all components were perfectly organized on the shelves, and every single step along the assembly line was precisely structured and planned in great detail. When walking through the production hall, you had to make sure to stay within the yellow lines, which are drawn on the floor, since there are so many small trucks, such as forklift trucks, driving around in order to supply the different workshop stations with new material. Thus, one of the first rules we learned was that these trucks were always allowed to go first.

Wearing the Scania outfit that we were given earlier, we trainees were dressed in the exact same way as all the other assemblers at the production line. Even the workshop managers all the way up to the plant manager wore at least the beige Scania T-shirt. This is, again, a typical example, that shows Scania’s unique organizational culture, where everybody – from the assembler to the top manager – feels like being part of one big family.

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When I was at the chassis assembly line, I worked with the team that put the engines into the bus chassis. I was surprised by the fact that a lot of work is still performed manually, for example, pushing the chassis from one work station to the next at the end of each tact time. The tools that are used in the chassis production are very heavy and not so easy to handle and it was exhausting to stand up during the entire day. Thus, my feet and shoulders hurt quite a bit when I got home from work.

During my second week of workshop practice, I was at the rear axle assembly line. The tact time, which is the time spent on each unit, is a lot shorter compared to the bus chassis production. Furthermore, since the rotation of an axle from one work station to the next is completely automated, every movement is prescribed in detail and has to be followed strictly. In addition, taking a break for drinking a sip of water, eating a snack or going to the restroom is steered by the tact time.

However, the workshop practice has been a very valuable experience for me. From day one, I felt like being part of the team and the assemblers were very patient and thorough when they taught me their tasks. The production facilities are really “the heart of Scania” and I have even more respect for the Scania assemblers, who are standing at the production lines every single day, now, after I have worked there myself. The assemblers’ dedication and commitment to Scania is truly exceptional and is definitely one of the reasons why Scania can retain such a high level of quality in its products.

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The introduction weeks


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The trainee program at Scania started in August with a six-week introductory program. Three of the six weeks were filled with lectures, seminars, and various other activities.

On one of the first days at Scania, we visited the Scania DemoCentre in Södertälje. The DemoCentre is Scania’s showroom where you can test drive different Scania products. More than fourteen thousand visitors from around the world come to the DemoCentre each year. Among them are representatives of major customers such as local councils, fire services, and the military, as well as international politicians. A wide range of vehicles can be tested on the test track – from distribution trucks to 25.25-metre rigs to hybrid Scania buses. The trucks are fully loaded and most of them are available in truck and trailer combinations. There is a Demodriver for each truck and bus who provides technical information and driving advice.

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Having never driven a truck before, I was very excited when I climbed into the driver’s cabin of one of the Scania trucks for the first time. It was an amazing feeling sitting high up in such a heavy and robust vehicle and experiencing the power of the V8 engine, when the truck easily mastered a steep hill on the test track. I also test drove a hybrid Scania bus, which was quite a unique experience, too.

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Another highlight of the introduction weeks was that we got to meet all executive board members including the CEO.

One of the seminars that we attended during the introduction weeks, was an intercultural training, where we learned more about the differences between the Swedish and German business cultures. German companies, for instance, tend to be more hierarchical, whereas consensus decision-making is very important for Swedish companies. Being aware of such cultural differences is crucial for successful German-Swedish business relations. Since the collaboration between Scania and MAN has intensified after Scania became part of the Volkswagen Group, understanding the German corporate culture has become essential for Scania.

It is very important for Scania that its employees have an appropriate work-life balance. Therefore, Scania motivates its employees to take a break from work once in a while in order to attend one of the gym classes that are offered at the Scania Health Center or to work out at the Scania gym. Hence, we trainees got the opportunity to test a Kettlebells class at the health center, which was a lot of fun.

On one of the weekends during the introduction weeks, we travelled to Barnens Ö together with the trainees from the year 2014/15. Barnens Ö is an island north of Stockholm and we stayed in a Swedish cottage directly at the water, where we celebrated a typical Swedish “kräftskiva” (crayfish party). It was also a great opportunity to get to know the former trainees and to ask them questions about their journey at Scania.

The activities mentioned above are only some of the highlights of the introduction weeks. Another highlight was definitely the three weeks that we spent at the Scania assembly lines, which I will write more about in my next blog entry.

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