Collaboration for skills provision

Resinit offers precision-machined components and composite products made from polymer and laminate materials to customers in sectors such as medical technology, food, defence and energy. The operation is based in Västervik, Sweden, and is part of XANO’s Precision Technology business unit. Turnover amounted to SEK 160 million in 2022, and the company has 70 employees.

Just as for many of its colleagues in the sector, one of the challenges facing Resinit is finding new employees with an interest in, and an aptitude for, technology. In Västervik, there hasn’t been an industrial engineering programme at upper secondary level for many years. As a result, there has been no natural pathway directly from school into the technology positions that Resinit needs to satisfy. Working alongside local colleagues, it was established that there was a considerable need for a programme focusing on production technology. Thanks to an active collaboration with Teknikcollege, the companies in Västervik have had their wish fulfilled, and Västervik Upper Secondary School now runs an industrial engineering programme. This is a three-year course that includes at least 15 weeks of work-based learning.

When Stefan Bergh, Production Manager at Resinit, made contact with the school to find a student who would be suitable for work-based learning at Resinit, Lovisa Andreassen was the most suitable candidate. Lovisa enjoys working with detailed activities and she was given the opportunity to do this at Resinit. Medical technology companies are a dominant customer group for the company, and the products that are manufactured demand small tolerances. “Practical work is my favourite topic, and I enjoy progressing from thought to finished product. I am learning more here at Resinit than at school,” says Lovisa. She got hooked on CNC technology (Computer Numerical Control) and considers that the industrial engineering programme has an important role to play in the community.

“When it comes to skills supply, we are obviously not just thinking about the here and now, but also in the long term,” says Stefan Bergh. “In addition to good training, we need to have a functioning labour market, and good relations with other companies in the collaboration group are important. Through Teknikcollege, we benefit from a strong network and opportunities to influence developments. We have been involved with Teknikcollege for a long time, and from 2023 we have also taken on the responsibility for its presidency,” continues Stefan. “This also enables us to gain an insight into what is going on in other regions. We gain inspiration from other companies and can make the training more attractive by showing off what we are doing and how we are contributing in society. This involvement certainly requires input from our side, but the collaboration is incredibly rewarding and we get a great deal back in return.”

About Teknikcollege

Teknikcollege is Sweden’s largest collaborative platform for skills supply within industry and is a quality label for courses where local authorities, training coordinators and companies work together to increase the attractiveness and quality of training with a technical focus.