Apprentices at ClampOn

We have been part of the educating system for apprentices in Norway since 2002, and have through the years had 16 students in training for their Ceritifcate of Craftsmanship. Read all four parts below.

Part 1 - Combining Craftmanship and General studies

In 2002, ClampOn took in an apprentice from the Technical General Studies (TAF) program. Since then, 16 students have trained for their Certificate of Craftsmanship at ClampOn while simultaneously getting their higher education entrance qualification in general studies.

“We got into the program through a sub-supplier. They were in the system already and suggested us as a potential participant. Knarvik Upper Secondary School then contacted us and asked if they could present the program,” says Per Arne Aadland, Manager of ClampOn’s Project and Production Departments.

The TAF program is a four-year study. Unlike vocational studies, where students spend the first two years at school and then one to three years as apprentices, TAF students combine studies and apprenticeship throughout the four years. For the first three years, they spend three days at school and two days in a business, then the last years they spend two days at school and three days in the business.

At the end of their study, the students will test for their Certificate of Craftsmanship. In addition, the general studies specialisation makes them eligible to go straight on to higher education, should they wish to do so. This flexibility makes the program popular. As a result, students participating are most often dedicated, skilled, and motivated.

Instrument Technician Ronny Vågenes is the technical advisor for the TAF students at ClampOn, who specialise in industry electronics. He confirms that the students are reliable and hardworking. “They are goal oriented, and want to do well. In return, we offer a good work environment in a business which has plenty of interesting challenges and opportunities for them.”

While the students contribute to ClampOn’s production department during their studies, many of them come back as summer interns. One of ClampOn’s field engineers started as a TAF student, and Per Arne Aadland believes the program can help with recruitment in the future. “We are very satisfied with the TAF program and have chosen to stay with it, and we have never regretted joining it.”

Part 2 - The TAF who Came Back to ClampOn - Gaute Langhelle

After finishing his apprenticeship, Gaute Langhelle’s plan was to use his year of military service to figure out what to do next. When a medical condition spoiled those plans, he returned to ClampOn, and since then, he has travelled around the world as a field engineer.

Gaute comes from Masfjorden, a municipality in the northern part of Hordaland County. The idea of choosing Technical General Studies came mainly from the advisor at school. “Back then I did a lot of sports, and I did not have any electronics experience. I just liked the thought of combining work and studies, and getting a Certificate of Craftsmanship,” says Langhelle (29).

He got one out of nine spots in the program at Knarvik Upper Secondary School. This meant that at age 15, he had to move away from home to study. “It was a bit strange at the start, but it went well. Though I took my dirty laundry back home to my mum,” he admits.

Gaute interviewed for three businesses, including ClampOn. While he cannot recall a lot from the actual interviews, he remembers being uncomfortable. Still, ClampOn stood out enough to become his first choice. This meant that each morning of his apprenticeship, Gaute got a lift with a colleague who started work at seven in the morning. Getting up that early was a challenge for him. He also found it challenging to be so young in an environment of grown-ups.

“I was far younger than everyone who worked in the production department, at that time there were five of them. In addition, everything was new to me. Fortunately, the others took good care of me. I learned a lot.”

As ClampOn was a small business at the time, Gaute tried his hand at a variety of tasks, which included things such as counting and ordering supplies, taking out paper and trash, and packing equipment for shipment in addition to his technical training. He started out working with wiring and power supplies, and after taking a soldering course, he began to make electronics. One of his favourite tasks was working with rack mounted electronics, making big systems with many sensors.

For his Certificate of Craftsmanship, he had to solder a safety card to a sensor, produce a sensor using this card, build a PSU box, put everything together, and make it work. Gaute was nervous beforehand, but had no problems completing the test. “Getting my Certificate of Craftsmanship was a great recognition. I have it framed on the wall of my old bedroom.”

After finishing his studies, Gaute worked in production for half a year. Then, he left to do his obligatory military service while figuring out what he wanted to do next. Three months later, a previously unknown medical condition got him discharged. With no other plan at hand, Gaute returned to ClampOn where he was offered a job as a field engineer. Since then, he has travelled around the world as a part of ClampOn’s service department, apart from a three years break to take a Bachelor’s Degree in subsea technology.

“I am having a great time here. I work shifts, four weeks on, one week where I am available if necessary, and three weeks off. This means I can plan a lot for the off weeks. Lately, I have spent time travelling in Europe and to concerts. “I have been told that at the ClampOn interview, I mentioned that becoming a police officer was a possibility. I can’t say I am sad that didn’t happen.”

Part 3 - The TAF who Wnt on to Build Boats - Randi Anette Rønnestad Fikkan

“I had four fantastic years at ClampOn. I think that is what got me through my studies, because I was incredibly fed up with most subjects,” says Randi Anette Rønnestad Fikkan (28). The former ClampOn TAF is now a weight engineer at Ulstein Design & Solution.

Twelve years ago, the situation was different. Randi Anette had top grades from lower secondary school, and could more or less pick and choose what to do for upper secondary studies. The problem was that she was incredibly tired of school. When she told her teachers that she was thinking about vocational studies, they thought that would be a waste of her skills, and even called her parents to try to get her to change her mind. “TAF was a compromise. I liked maths, physics, and science.”

When Randi Anette started her apprenticeship at ClampOn, she knew absolutely nothing about electronics. “The others in the production department were really nice, and understood we had to take baby steps. I had thought electronics was phones and computers, so when I saw a huge drill, I was like ‘oh, is that electronics, too?’. Eventually, I learned.”

In spite of being in a work environment with mostly grown men, Randi had a great time. “The guys were fantastic; warm and inclusive. I had been the teacher’s pet that people disliked at school, but they taught me to get back at those who said something, to stand up for myself instead of doing nothing.”

Randi Anette believes the apprenticeship at ClampOn helped her push through even the subjects she could not stand. “I had such a great time, and I knew that if I failed at those subjects, I would be out. Since I had always done well and was afraid of failing, I worked really hard. I actually saw a psychologist a couple of times about that, and I got the assignment not to study for a test, just go and fail it. I didn’t study, but I still got the second highest grade. After that, my psychologist asked: ‘What did you learn from this, did you fail?’ ‘No.’ ‘Did you die?’ ‘No.’ When I went on to study at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, I did fail exams. I don’t think I would have finished my studies without that lesson from the psychologist.”

At ClampOn, Randi Anette learned about all areas of production of ultrasonic intelligent sensors. Still, she was extremely nervous before taking the test to get her Certificate of Craftsmanship. “I thought I was going to die. Colleague Bjørn Solberg looked at me and said ‘Randi, you know how to do this, it will be just fine’. Getting my Certificate of Craftsmanship was great. It still hangs in my old bedroom at my parents’ house.”

After her apprenticeship, Randi Anette took a year off. “My mum was almost going nuts, I had finally finished upper secondary, and I didn’t want to study? That had been the goal! However, the year off was so boring that I thought was up for something theoretical, and I went on to take a Master’s Degree in Technical Cybernetics. Now, my mum is happy, and I am happy that my mum pushed me through. I would say ‘I don’t want this anymore!’ and she would say ‘Just take the exam at least!’ ‘I don’t want to hand in my Master Degree thesis! Stupid thesis!’ ‘But you wrote it already, can’t you just hand it in?’. It ended well for me. I realise I know more than I think I do.”

Randi looks back on her years at ClampOn with fondness. Now, she is a weight engineer at Ulstein Design & Solution, where she does weight calculations and estimations for shipbuilding projects, as well as follow-ups after the ships are finished. She has a job she loves, but that she might not have had if it was not for the TAF program. “TAF is a really good program. It gave me valuable experience that I have taken with me to where I am now.”

Part 4 - The current TAF - Peter Hatlebrekke Husebø

When 15-year-old Peter Hatlebrekke Husebø interviewed for an apprentice position at ClampOn, he had never been in an interview situation before, and he had no idea how to act. “When I was offered a cookie, I overanalysed everything and thought they were going to test how I would react to that offer. I was really nervous,” he says.

Peter did accept a cookie. He also put ClampOn as his first choice for his apprenticeship. Then he had to wait. The message of acceptance came while he was on vacation in USA. Peter’s big sister Caroline immediately let him know. “It was a decision that would influence my life quite a bit, so when I knew I had been accepted, I was very relieved,” he says.

Caroline, who is four years older than Peter, was the one who encouraged him to join the TAF program in the first place. She had been a TAF herself, and found it to be a great opportunity. Peter worked hard for the grades required to get into the program, and when he applied, he was one of 72 who were interviewing at the various businesses. Only nine got a spot in the TAF electronics class.

“I thought about mechanics as well, but ended up picking electronics. It was a new field to me, but something I wanted to learn more about.”

At ClampOn, the fourth year TAF apprentices help train the fresh ones. When Peter started his apprenticeship, Øyvind Sanden became his mentor. Peter followed him around, did what he did, and took instructions from him. “Øyvind always had an answer for me, and I could relate to him as he was close in age and had been in my situation before. I think it made a big difference.”

Now, 19-year-old Peter is the mentor of ClampOn’s first year apprentice Martin Pedersen. “This summer I thought ‘whoa, that is how far I have come?’. It was strange, because to me it felt like Øyvind just left, and that I had just started making it on my own. Getting this far is a good feeling though. I have learned a lot here.”

One of the main things Peter will take away from his apprenticeship is the understanding of how things work. In the beginning, he would do tests without thinking more about them afterwards. Then he started reflecting on why he performed those tests. “Now, if something goes wrong, I know why, and that makes it easier to figure out how to fix it,” he says, and gives credit to his technical advisor, Ronny Vågenes. “Ronny is always there for us. He helps us a lot, and he has the answer to more or less all our questions.”

This spring, Peter will take his Certificate of Craftsmanship and his final exams. He has never regretted choosing TAF, though he admits that watching his friends finish upper secondary and then take a year off to chill, sometimes makes him wonder what he is doing. Nonetheless, Peter is hardworking and ambitious, and he already has plans for what to do next.

“I will try to become a field operator in the intelligence battalion in the military. After that, my first choice is to take a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim,” he says; incidentally the same education two former ClampOn TAFs are taking right now.