Atlas Copco Philippines Hosts Swedish Students under International Workplace Training Program

From October 13 to 31, 2008, Atlas Copco Philippines Inc. hosted 3 Swedish students to 3 weeks of actual on the job training. Erik Winblad von Walter, Philip Johansson and Oskar Johansson (in the photo, left to right) got to experience how different facets of work are done locally.

All 3 were under the Student International Workplace Training program of ABB Industrial High School in Västerås, Sweden. All 3 are graduating students. Under the training program, the students are given the freedom to choose which country to go to and which company to work for.

When asked why they chose the Philippines and why Atlas Copco, Oskar Johansson said, “We chose Atlas Copco because it is a well known international brand. In fact, it is one of the biggest industrial companies back in Sweden. We believe that the Philippines has one of the most dynamic economies in Asia, and this will give us the opportunity to observe and learn these dynamics. This also gives us a chance to immerse ourselves in the colourful Filipino culture.”

Training Program

“For the past 3 weeks, each of these students was rotated to different departments, such as Supply and Logistics, Service, Sales and Marketing, and Credit and Collection. They each had significant time learning the ropes of the business from the local staff,” Hector Melencio, CT Marketing Specialist, said.

Jonnie Regis, Philippine CT General Manager, added, “In times of internationalization with greater cross-border contacts and globalization, we hope to help them achieve a stronger connection between education and working life.”

“We hope to sponsor more foreign students in the future. Not only will this give them a chance to learn how we do things, this will also give them the opportunity to enjoy Filipino hospitality and our world-famous tourist spots. In fact, they went to Boracay Island after the training.”

Immersion

To totally immerse themselves in the Philippines, they opted not to stay in any hotel. Instead, they rented a house near Atlas Copco Philippines’ Laguna Technopark office.

After their training program was completed, Philip Johansson said, “After 3 weeks here in Laguna, we learned many things about the local work processes. But I guess the more important thing is that we learned more on how life is in the Philippines. We learned how to ride the jeepney and the tricycle. We’ve already been to malls in the area. We’ve eaten the local foods. We also had to chance to sing videoke and party with the locals. We really felt welcome.”