This summer, TS Group has had 16 summer temporary workers at Mongstad on assignment for Equinor, and among them was 21-year-old Stina Leivestad Morvik. For the rest of the year, she is studying civil engineering in mechanical and energy technology at NTNU in Trondheim, but the summer at Norway's largest oil refinery gave her experiences that she will take with her into the new semester.
– It was really nice to come back. I had been an apprentice here before as an industrial mechanic, so I knew both the people and the systems from before. This time I got more responsibility, and it was fun to work practically again.
As a former apprentice, Stina already had good knowledge of the area, but the summer was still a new experience because she now had a trade certificate and thus more responsibility. The work consisted of, among other things, overhauling and assembling various mechanical equipment such as pumps, turbines, valves and heat exchangers, in addition to participating in service rounds. She also got to use machining tools such as a lathe to repair and improve equipment. The working days varied between the workshop and outside in the plant – always with exciting and educational tasks.
– You get a bit overwhelmed, and put in a lot of different things. But it was just educational. I rarely worked alone and learned a lot from being part of processes from start to finish. It gave me a broader understanding of how things are connected, she says.
She particularly highlights an increased understanding of how the interaction between engineers and skilled workers works. Through her work, she has learned that insight becomes completely different when you have handled the equipment yourself and seen how it works in practice. It is not just about building something from scratch, but also about understanding how it can be repaired and improved. Even with a background as an industrial mechanic, she found that the summer job provided new learning and a broader perspective on both the engineering profession and the energy sector as a whole.
As she embarks on a new semester, she notices how her summer job has given her an advantage. Topics like compressors and thermodynamics suddenly take on a whole new dimension because she has already worked with the machines up close. Having disassembled and assembled them herself has given her knowledge that goes beyond what is in the textbooks. She describes herself as lucky to have gotten a relevant summer job – an opportunity she knows not all her fellow students get.
And she does not hesitate to recommend other students to apply for summer jobs in industry and at Mongstad.
– The experience is great. They are good at explaining and take the time to teach you. You are included in the entire process, not just sweeping floors or washing parts. As long as you show commitment, you get to try out tasks that you actually benefit from, says Stina.
TS Group thanks Stina and all the summer temporary workers for their great efforts throughout the summer.
