My career in marine engineering began in 2016 when, having completed my military service, I had the opportunity to follow in my family’s footsteps in the industry. My grandfather had a respectable 39-year career in this field. I was only three years old when I first visited a construction site in Kokkola, where my grandfather was working as site manager. Ever since I was a little boy, I dreamed of going to work at Terramare.
I don’t actually have a basic education in marine engineering. I was educated as a HVAC fitter and after graduating I worked in that sector for one summer before doing my military service. Actually, the change in my career was helped by the fact that I has already quite handy with angle grinders and flame cutters, not to mention welding machines.
My entire career at present in marine engineering is based on being an apprentice and learning from my colleagues, who are the best in their field. Every time I’ve started a new job, I’ve noticed how well I’ve been received, even though I might not have known much about the work itself.
I started at Terramare as a trainee charger and got to see how underwater drilling and blasting is done. I was an apprentice charger to an experienced driller but there was also a work supervisor who knew all about charging work and taught me. I stayed in that job for around a year.
After that, I got the chance to go and learn how to run a drilling rig as the partner of an experienced driller, and this enabled me to expand my skills. I worked as a driller’s apprentice for a few years. When there was a slight break in the drilling and blasting work, I was again given the opportunity to learn something new.
For half a year, I served on a dredging barge as a junior operator, working alongside an experienced operator. After that, I was transferred to bigger dredger as a deckhand for the next six months. The most recent opportunity to expand my skills was when I was assigned to quay element installation and worked as an apprentice to an experienced crane operator.
During the winters, I have been involved in repairing and refurbishing equipment at the Loviisa Plant Department. The servicing work is very varied: from hydraulic repairs to metalwork and everything in between.
The best aspect of my work is that I get to know some really excellent colleagues.
My typical tasks vary a lot and depend on the vessel I’m working on. I am currently working as a junior operator on a dredging barge. My day includes operating and servicing the excavator, general maintenance of the vessel and generally keeping things in good order.
The best aspect of my work is that I get to know some really excellent colleagues. I think it’s important to get along well with all your fellow workers so that everything works efficiently. Already in vocational college, I noticed that I learn things much better in practice by doing than by reading, and I consider it a big plus that, in my work, I have been able to learn in a hands-on way.