According to official statistics, in Sweden alone there will be a lack of some 50,000 engineers in the Swedish industry by 2030. The fierce competition for talent has therefore already started. It will be essential for Volvo Group to attract and retain engineers in the future. Added to that, Volvo Group has a ratio of some 80% male employees and 20% female employees, it will also be key to attract more female engineers in order to increase diversity and inclusiveness even more.
Therefore GTT invited girls between 12 and 19 years to attend an “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day”. During the event, two students from technical programs visited Powertrain Engineering in Malmö, where they met Angela Johnsson, Manager Design, and learnt how the engineers work within Powertrain Engineering.
Another 19 girls got the opportunity to visit Vehicle Engineering in Lundby where Annelie Adner, Team Leader in Vehicle Engineering, arranged various workshops and laboratories for them to visit, such as; 3D printing, the cab workshops, sound laboratory and design & interaction rigging. In addition, Paulina Ramfelt, Group Manager at Powertrain Engineering in Lundby hosted two students and showed them the chemical lab. They also got to try engine optimization in truck, and dismount two turbos at TMA (Technical Material Analysis) and simulation of flow in pipes.
“It was a good visit, and we need to work more actively to get more female engineers to Volvo Group since organizations with greater diversity work more efficient” says Paulina Ramfelt.
The students were satisfied with the opportunity to have firsthand experience of engineering in GTT. Meanwhile, employees involved in the event were also pleased to host the young students and presented the company very professionally from many perspectives.
Sandra Ekermo, who works with student relations and employer branding within GTT HR, says that;
“GTT attempts to increase the working diversity and inclusiveness in the organization. This event gave the students a chance to know what it is like to work as an engineer at Volvo Group and got insight into some of the different jobs we have and could offer. I think it will definitely inspire and encourage them to study engineering.”