Since 2014, TS Group has worked closely with Shell to provide apprentices with a secure path forward in the workplace. Several are offered permanent jobs with TS Group immediately after completing their apprenticeship, and often continue at the same location where they did their apprenticeship. This makes the transition easier for the new graduate, while allowing both Shell and the employee to build on the expertise that is already well-established at the facility.
Elvin Bakke (21) is one of the most recent examples. He recently started as a process operator at TS Group and was hired out to Shell in Nyhamna – the same place where he had his apprenticeship from 2023 until August this year. When TS Group offered him a permanent position with well-known colleagues around him just before his professional exam, it was easy to say yes.
Elvin first started in the electrical and automation engineering program at high school, where he also earned a certificate. Still, it didn't feel quite right. A conversation with a friend who worked in process engineering changed his course.
"Automation didn't really interest me," he says. That's why he chose to take an extra year at school and secured an apprenticeship with Shell in the spring of 2023.
With his apprenticeship well completed and his certificate in hand, Elvin was given responsibility from day one. Now, among other things, he could process work permits and work independently around the plant. The apprenticeship had given him a solid foundation, and he felt well prepared – but he emphasizes that there is still a lot he can develop in. He sees curiosity about the tasks as the key to further development.
"It's fun that my signature now means something," says Elvin.
Elvin really appreciates the shift system, which he already knew well from his apprenticeship. Three to four days of work in a row, followed by days off, gives him a balance he enjoys. He describes the work environment as very good – regardless of the shift or who he works with.
He also highlights that the process industry is versatile and offers many opportunities. The skills can be used across industries, and he laughs when he says that he could just as easily work in a chocolate factory. Nevertheless, he chooses to stick to the oil and energy sector – for now.
For him, it means a lot to be able to continue working close to home. In the future, he envisions more training and increased experience, and he finds tasks in the control room exciting in the long term. At the same time, he finds great joy in taking responsibility for placement students and giving them the same security that he himself received when he was new.
— I personally experienced that many people at Nyhamna are good at taking responsibility for those who are new, and I want to continue that – to lead by example, he says.
