We are happy to present Erik and Tanel, our ambitious trainees, who have decided to complete their engineering internship at the Harju Elekter sheet metal factory in Keila. We asked them how the internship has gone so far, what they think about their first international business trip, and what attracts them the most of the engineering world.
The answer to the question of what makes working at Harju Elekter so exciting is quick and same from both Erik and Tanel: “Our team!”. “It’s nice to see people working here because they really like it,” adds Tanel. Recalling his childhood, Tanel says that when he was a boy, he had many career ideas. From a fireman to a schoolteacher. But the idea of becoming an engineer came up at school. “Erik nodded and added that while picking a specialty, he had a choice between road building and robotics. I decided to see how things are going with robots – so far I’m happy with the choice,’ explains Erik. Both agree that engineering is exciting, creative and offers a variety of job possibilities. “Engineers are the people who create the way of the future,” says Tanel. Erik added that there is always a new problem for engineers to solve, and there is definitely no risk of boredom in this area.”At least at Harju Elekter we haven’t got bored!”, says Tanel.
From left: Erik Simin, Ignas Kiauliavicius, Tanel Truus
The engineering trainees also gained their first international internship experience by spending a whole week at Harju Elekter’s Lithuanian plant. In addition to the factory, there is also the academy of Harju Elekter where young engineers are trained, and that’s where Erik and Tanel spent most of their international internship week. “First we had an electrical training, then Solid Edge training. Afterwards we were able to do our part and participate in the production process,” explains Tanel. Erik adds that all week of internship in Lithuania was exciting, concise and they did not feel excluded, even for a second. „A decent programme was set up for us,“ he said. Erik is also grateful to his Lithuanian colleague, senior mechanical engineer Ignas, who devoted a considerable amount of time to them, provided them a professional training and answered absolutely all questions. “We learned a lot from him,” says Tanel. Tanel adds: “Generally speaking, many people asked how we were doing and were interested in the internship process. There are many kind-hearted people at Harju Elekter!”.
Would they recommend Harju Elekter’s internship to the others? „Yes, absolutely!“ Erik and Tanel say in the same breath. Tanel emphasises the decision of the Estonian plant manager to send trainees to Lithuania to acquire new skills: “This is a big step for a trainee. The first internship and already such an experience!”. At Harju Elekter, there are certainly interesting challenges for students from our speciality. Both product development as well as robotics students can find a career opportunity. For instance, I’m working with a robot right now,” explains Erik.
At the end of the conversation, Erik and Tanel talk about their awesome team events – for example, last week they had a disc golf competition with the team. Even though Erik and Tanel have been at Harju Elekter for a short time, they feel like a very valued team members.
When asked what the future holds, both say that they hope to continue to work at Harju Elekter as well as continue with their studies at TalTech. The employer fully supports the studies by offering flexible work hours, and there are several other young engineers on the engineer team who study and work at the same time.
We wish Erik and Tanel the best of luck in their careers!
