Future Engineering Education: What Competences are Energy Companies Looking for when Recruiting Graduates with a Master of Science (Technology) Degree?

Abstract

The energy business faces new challenges due to European Union (EU) 2020 regulations and the transition going on in energy systems towards more efficiency and a higher degree of renewable energy sources. The Vaasa region in Ostrobothnia, Finland, has a rapidly developing energy technology concentration with about 10,000 people employed in 120 companies with activities related to the energy sector. This study examined what kind of competence the energy companies need and what they consider when recruiting. By supplying them with a work force with the right skills the expectations are that companies will continue to prosper.

The study was executed by interviewing key persons in the 10 biggest energy companies in the Vaasa region. Results indicated that the companies are looking for people with a solid technical background. Also more specialised knowledge like understanding how energy systems work was favourable. The study also showed that many companies are eager to recruit graduates that have both technical and economic competence. Other favourable competences are: a broad-know how base in electricity, information technology (IT), English and international communication. The findings indicate what skills and expertise to focus on when educating future engineers in the new Åbo Akademi programme – Masters of Science (Technology) Degree [MSc(Tech.)] in the field of energy technology.

Even though this study was limited to one region it is probable that the conclusions can be useful for other engineering educators since many engineers and companies work globally and face the same challenges.

Keywords:

• competences
• employability
• energy market
• engineering education
• recruitment

Introduction

World energy management is facing great challenges due to a rapidly growing demand for energy that cannot, due to climate change, be delivered based on mainly fossil energy sources as today. Implementing more renewables, lowering carbon dioxide emissions, increasing energy efficiency and introducing smart grids could open new markets and possibilities for new products and services for energy companies.

The energy technology concentration in the Vaasa region is claimed to be the biggest in the Nordic countries and it is also an important agent on the global energy market (Energy Vaasa 2013). The need for energy is growing worldwide, especially in developing countries. Companies need to be innovative and have a highly qualified work force to keep up with the demands. The Vaasa region is one of the most important regions for innovation and energy solutions in Finland. One indicator of this is that Vaasa was appointed the engine for the theme ‘Sustainable Energy Solutions’ by the Ministry of Employment and the Economy in the year 2013. The programme is called INKA and focuses on innovative cities. The purpose of it is to boost international competitiveness and enlarge projects to create new kinds of business with the cooperation of Finnish cities and the state (Vaasa 2013).

The energy technology concentration in the Vaasa region employs 10,000 persons at the moment. That is one-quarter of Finland’s total energy sector manpower. The aim is to have the number of employees doubled by the year 2020. The region contributes to 30% of Finnish energy technology export and 12% of Finland’s total technology industry export (Energy Vaasa 2013). But from a long historical view nothing lasts forever. According to Katajamäki (2009) the Vaasa region is experiencing a long wave, a long period of economic expansion – meaning that the industry in the region is still growing – but the curve will plateau and then decline. This phenomenon differs from short-term business cycles that last a shorter period of time. Katajamäki (Dean, Vaasan yliopisto, interviewed 4 April 2013)identifies the current wave as the second long wave. The first wave occurred in the eighteenth century during the years of tar production.

In a study by Johnson (2013) on Smart Specialisation the main focus is to map connectivity between stakeholders in the region. By filling out the gaps the aim is to increase the peaks and the specialist knowledge (Figure 1). This is believed to benefit the companies and also the region. Our study applies these thoughts but see them as missing competence instead of connectivity. By interviewing key persons at the energy companies with the most employees in the Vaasa region the aim is to map what they need to know and what to focus on in education.

Figure 1 Cross-sectoral platform (Johnson 2013, modified).

In a study by Arlett et al. (2010) the authors stress the importance of meeting the needs of the industry. The study shows that the role of the academic educators in engineering is crucial in order to provide students an experience-led degree. This is a concern since there are fewer academics with industry experience every year. This awakens the question if educators are able to provide the students with the experience-led education they need. Therefore there is a need for more collaboration between universities and industry.

Arlett et al. (2010) states that the communication between universities and industries should be two-way and that both parties should understand the needs of one another. All universities are different and should take distinct approaches to this challenge, but there are some common principles that should be taken into consideration.

This article explores what skills and qualifications the companies are asking for among their personnel. By doing this it is possible to find areas that could be improved in the present engineer education programmes in the Vaasa region. By supplying the industry with enough educated candidates for new positions and especially with wanted profiles the aim is to postpone a decline in the economy in the region.

The article combined data from many fields. Firstly from the education programme, Masters of Science (Technology) Degree [MSc(Tech.)] in energy technology, in the Vaasa region, Ostrobothnia and the energy technology concentration were introduced. Next other research on engineering education, student’s employability, recruiting in general and competences was presented. Then the business sector was involved by interviewing persons in key positions at the companies about what skills and expertise they value when recruiting, especially among young engineers applying for open positions.

By combining these findings the education programme can be improved to better match the needs of the industry. This corresponds to the idea of Arlett et al. (2010) to support communication between universities and industries so both parties understand the needs of one another. The study strives to prepare the region for the future.

Description of the Vaasa region and the key activities

Master of Science (Technology) in the field of energy technology at Åbo Akademi

Energy and environmental technology is a new main subject at the Department of Chemical Engineering at Åbo Akademi University. The programme started in Vaasa in the year 2011. Students take courses both in Vaasa and Turku (Studiehandboken 2013). The education is a partnership between Åbo Akademi and Novia, the University of Applied Science, in Vaasa.

Nationally, the energy technology education in Ostrobotnia plays a major role. Compared to other regions in Finland, Ostrobothnia and Vaasa has a large number of university students in the fields of energy technology and business. Every fifth person of the 67,000 inhabitants in Vaasa studies at a university or at a university for applied sciences. In all, 12,000 students study at a university in Vaasa. Research on how to improve energy sufficiency in the entire energy chains is also important in the city. An indicator that the companies also see the importance of the region is that two out of the three Finnish companies with most investments in research and development (R&D) have activities in Vaasa (Wärtsilä Finland Oy and ABBOy) (Aslani et al. 2013, Students Vaasa 2013). According to the Official Statistics of Finland (2012) Ostrobothnia had the sixth most investments in R&D of the regions in Finland.

The Vaasa region and Ostrobothnia

Ostrobothnia consists of 15 municipalities and four economic regions and is situated on the west coast of Finland (Figure 2). The province has 180,000 inhabitants with Vaasa as the capital. Approximately 50% speak Swedish in Ostrobothnia (Österbotten i siffror 2013a)

Figure 2 Ostrobothnia and the Vaasa region (Ostrobothnia 2013).

Ostrobothnia has one of the highest potentials for new renewable energy sources. There are 150 companies connected to the renewable industry in Ostrobothnia. One hundred and twenty of them are located in the Vaasa region. They are energy manufacturers or engineering-service companies who supply principally wind technology (Aslani et al. 2013, Energy Vaasa 2013).

The energy technology concentration

The energy technology concentration in the Vaasa region is claimed to be the leader in Finland and the biggest in the Nordic countries. It is also believed to have great importance internationally (Österbottens förbund 2010). Eight out of 10 of the energy companies with the highest number of employees in the Vaasa region work globally. Wärtsilä has approximately 18,000 employees working in nearly 200 locations in 70 countries worldwide (Wärtsilä 2013). The second biggest company in Vaasa, ABB, has more than 150,000 employees in about 100 countries (ABB 2013). The other six companies also work globally in various locations. Apart from travelling, the work load shared inside the worldwide network is not too much dependent on where the employee is graphically situated. Because of the internationality of the companies, it is safe to presume that the findings of the study can be useful for others who work in developing engineering education.

According to Energy Vaasa (2013) the revenue of the energy technology concentration is four billion, 70% is export. The energy technology concentration employs half of the workforce within industry in Ostrobothnia (Österbotten i siffror 2013b).

ETLA (the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy) predicted that the importance of the energy technology concentration will increase. For the industry in Ostrobothnia there were more vacant jobs, compared to the recession year 2009 (ELY-Centre 2013). But unemployment is also increasing in the industry; 8299 persons were unemployed in Ostrobothnia in September 2013 that is 1323 persons more than one year ago. Still, Ostrobothnia has the second best employment-situation, compared to the rest of Finland. ELY-centre (2013) also provides an occupational barometer (Pohjanmaa amattibarometteri) that shows what kind of occupations that are in demand. The study indicates that there is a shortage of electrical engineers and technicians in the region. In another occupational forecast (Peltola 2012) the Vaasa region will need more persons with skills in electricity, electronics, chemistry, metals and machines 2012–2016.

The future of engineering education

There are only a few Finnish studies on MSc(Tech.) education programmes. One of the more recent studies was made by Korhonen-Yrjänheikki (2011). The study concludes that today’s engineers need to transform from technical problem-solvers to more cooperative creators. They should also know the needs of a rapidly changing society – the students need to be diverse and lifelong learners. The collaboration between universities and the companies should be strengthened. The study also stresses a more international learning environment for the engineers.

Findings from international engineering studies can also be applied to Finnish conditions. Engineers work globally and it is plausible to assume that the same tendencies can be noted. According to Sunthonkanokpong (2011) future engineers in Thailand should be lifelong learners and be able to frame problems. Engineers should also be flexible, have high ethical standards, and a strong sense of professionalism. The author also stresses communication and analytics skills, practical inventiveness, creativity, business and management skills and leadership abilities as qualities for successful engineers.

Duderstadt (2008) sees many challenges for future engineers in the United States. He lists demographics, globalisation and rapidly evolving technologies as factors that will change the role of engineers in society. This will demand broader skills and in the future it will not be enough for an engineer to master only a scientific and technological discipline.

According to Duderstadt (2008) the off-shoring of engineering jobs is a problem in the United States. It is difficult to analyse the situation in Finland – the latest study was done in 2008 when Deschryvere and Kotiranta concluded that every other firm anticipated an increase in employment in Finland. But poor economic development has led to some major changes since their study so the results may not be reliable.

Other challenges, according to Duderstadt (2008), are the decline of student’s interest in scientific and engineering careers. According to Koulutusnetti (2013) ¹ there seems to be the same tendency that Duderstadt finds concerning the United States. In 2006–2008, 30% of all applicants applied for an education programme in technology or logistics to a university of applied sciences, after that the amount has decreased. From 2009–2013 around 20% applied to these types of programmes.

The employability of students

Creasy (2013) lists a good degree, generic skills and different personal attributes as qualifications for improving the employability. According to the Royal Academy of Engineering (2007) companies are looking for graduates who have both a sound educational background, as well as ‘soft skills’ like creativity and innovation and implementation skills. They should also know how to communicate and how to work in teams. The study also supports the idea that graduates become business-minded and understand consequences of their ‘engineering decisions and investments’. In a more recent study by the Royal Academy of Engineering (2010) larger companies are cautious about focusing too much on these ‘soft skills’. They worry that non-technical studies would weaken the mathematics and engineering skills of the graduates. Instead larger companies would prefer that universities gave graduates a sound technical background, and then the companies are able to give their employees the right kind of additional competence on the job.

Recruitment in general

There are a lot of facts to take in to consideration when recruiting. According to Knocke et al. (2003) a correct recruitment process is an important means to get the most competent personnel. The study identifies five stages of recruitment (Table 1).

Table 1 The five stages of recruitment (Knocke et al. 2003).

Job advertisements	The goal is to spread the information about the organisation who is looking for employees. This is accomplished by selecting the appropriate channels for advertising.
Sorting	The number of the applicants has to be reduced to a manageable number.
Evaluation	Interviews, tests, references, and so on will be the foundation to estimate if a person is fit for a job.
Ranking	Based on the tests, group discussions or any other means that has been used to rank the applicants according to their qualities.
Decision	The election of the applicant can be implemented in different ways, by the employer or with varying degrees of influence from the co-workers.

Vaahtio (2007) points out that every company has to define their own criteria when looking for personnel. By thoroughly listing what kind of tasks are in the job description the company has the best possibility to find the perfect match.

Competences

According to Roos et al. (2006), competence, knowledge, and skills can be described as a part of a person’s ‘intellectual capital’. In this description the researchers also include the image of the organisation and the relations that the organisations has with customers, partners, distributors and other external stakeholders. This study suggests that intellectual capital increases the value of the company.

Höglund (2002) distinguishes between ‘competence’ and ‘qualification’. The difference is that ‘competence’ is something an individual has while qualification is something closely connected to the work tasks. Granberg (2009) defines competence as formal qualifications for a task or a job position. According to Granberg there are different types of competence. One of them is formal competence. As a rule formal competence is connected to an education that the individual has undertaken. In this study Granberg’s definition of formal competence was applied.

EU (2006) listed key competences for undertaking the challenge of globalisation. They see lifelong learning as a means to adapt to a changing and interconnected world. To be a lifelong learner one should know how to communicate in their mother tongue and foreign languages. One should also have mathematical competence, basic competences in science and technology, and digital competence. It is also important to learn to learn, have social and civic competences, sense of initiative and entrepreneurship, and cultural awareness. In a report the regional council of Ostrobothnia (2013) came to similar conclusions. Their study showed that the within the sectors of energy, business, and elderly care in Ostrobothnia it would be important to know how to communicate internationally and in an international environment. English is crucial, but also Russian, French, Chinese and Japanese would be beneficial. The importance of networking should also be stressed. In the energy sector biosciences could be a new possibility.

Research question

The aim of this study was to find development issues within education that could make the companies more successful by supplying them with the right kind of candidates for open engineer positions. With more competence that focuses on the key issues of the companies the goal is to achieve this.

One of the hypotheses was that the companies will value the ability to work in an international environment. This is based on the fact that the energy and environmental technology companies in the Vaasa region will soon be the biggest part of the Finnish export (Energy Vaasa 2013). The expectation is that the understanding of foreign business will be more demanded in the future.

Another hypothesis was that the respondents are looking for a certain kind of competence and the aim was to find out which. According to Vaahtio (2007) the best possibility to find the perfect match for an open job position is to thoroughly list what kind of tasks there are in the job description the company has. Other competences are also briefly discussed in our study, but the main focus was competence that the MSc(Tech.) education programme can provide. In the interviews the respondents also discussed other determinants in the recruiting process (experience from the same kind of job or business field, education and personal qualities).

Mapping needs of the industry

Key persons at 10 companies with the most employees in the energy technology concentration in the Vaasa region were interviewed for this study. Since Wärtsiläis the biggest of the companies two persons in different positions were interviewed.² Also from The Switch two persons from different departments were interviewed.³

The interviews started with a brief presentation of the MSc(Tech.) in Energy Technology at Åbo Akademi. There was a risk of introducing bias in the survey, but it was considered more important to introduce the programme so that the respondents could put it into context by understanding the current situation. Precaution was taken in this process. The respondents were given a chance to glance through the Student’s guide on a course-name level. All the interviews were preceded by an e-mail correspondence with a presentation (Appendix 1) and sometimes with a phone call as well. During the interview process it was noted that in some cases there was a need for a complementary technical comment. Therefore the respondents were encouraged to discuss this issue with their colleagues before the meeting. Most of the interviews were in Swedish or Finnish and at the companies, except for the interview with the CEO of Crimppi.⁴ Some of the respondents preferred not to be recorded; therefore none of the interviews were recorded. To make sure that there were no misinterpretations the respondents were asked to read an outline of the discussion. The respondents also had a chance to comment on the paper before the publication.

The method utilised was a form of a semi-structured interview technique. The interviews were based on the questions in Appendix 2, but there was also room for follow-up questions. By avoiding too specific questions the aim was to have an open discussion.

The study consisted of interviews with 12 people from 10 companies, six women and six men. Three of the respondents were Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of their companies, six worked in Human Resources (HR)-departments as managers, specialists or assistants. A managing director, a vice president and manager were also interviewed. This study also included Uponor Infra Oy.⁵

In Table 2, the companies and the respondents are briefly introduced. Wärtsilä Finland Oy (Wärtsilä 2013), ABB Oy, Vacon Oy (Vacon 2013), Uponor Infra Oy (former KWH-Pipe Oy), VEO Oy (VEO 2013), CitecOyAb (Citec 2013), Wapice (Wapice Oy 2013), Vaasan Sähkö (Vaasan Sähkö 2013), Crimppi Oy and The Switch have the most employees in the Vaasa region.⁶

Table 2 Figures describing the interviewed companies and the interviews performed during May and August 2013.

Company N = respondents	Employed in Finland, persons	Employed in Vaasa region, persons	Profile of respondent	Date of interview (2013)
HR personnel	Leading personnel
Wärtsilä Finland Oy (2)	3000	3000
Master of Science in Business and Economics				Managing director	28 August
M.Sc.(Tech.) degree in Mechanical Engineering				Vice president of division	10 May
ABB Oy (1)	6600	2100
Bachelor of Business Administration			HR		16 May
Vacon Oy (1)	800	700
Master of Business Administration			HR		28 August
Uponor Infra Oy (KWH-Pipe Ltd) (1)	1000	n.n.
Master of Business Administration			HR		8 August
VEO Oy (1)	400	<400	HR		14 August
Citec Oy Ab (1)	500	300
Master of Science in Business and Economics and Master of Arts			HR		22-May
Vaasan sähkö Oy (1)	170	<170
Master of Science in Energy Engineering				CEO	12 June
Wapice Oy (1)	250	140
Doctor, Automation Technology				CEO	27 May
Crimppi Oy (1)	250	130
Master of Science, Engineering				CEO	27 August Telephone interview
The Switch (2)	140	70
n.n.			HR		31 May
MSc				Manager	29 August Telephone interview

Results

At the moment of the interviews the majority of the companies were recruiting, had made big recruitments or were planning to recruit. Figure 3 shows the engineering competences the companies in the Vaasa region are looking for. Figure 4 shows other important competences listed by the respondents. In the following section the competences that two respondents, or more, mentioned will be presented.

Figure 3 Engineering competences mentioned by the respondents. The value given in parenthesis is how many respondents listed the same competence.

Figure 4 Other competences mentioned by the respondents. The value given in parenthes is is how many respondents listed the same competence.

What is important when recruiting?

What stands out the most in this research is that almost every one of the respondents agreed that the most important thing when recruiting is that the applicant has the basic know-how in engineering that is required, for example solid knowledge in mathematics. As one of the respondents says:

With a solid technical background it is easier to solve problems.

In ‘Common professional studies’ the most important thing for the respondents was a broad know-how base in electricity, for example production of electricity (fuel combustion and engine know-how). Another competence was automation technology; including plant automation and production automation.

During the interviews three of the respondents mentioned competence in energy systems, and efficient energy systems as important. Within the system one can find distribution, fuels, grid system, grid operations (Transmission System Operator), energy efficiency, energy saving and future production and consumption.

Once you know how the energy systems work, then you can take on the climate challenge and for example study the legislation of emissions.

Two of the respondents also stressed the importance of understanding power plant technology and power plant systems, for example, hydro-, gas turbine combined-cycle (GTCC)- and nuclear-power plants. Also boiler and gas turbine plants running on gas biofuels or coal were mentioned.

Another competence listed is fuels, for example, usage of fuels and gas/liquefied natural gas (LNG) related know-how. Also knowledge in frequency converter solutions was mentioned by two respondents.

The majority of the respondents see business studies as an important competence. Especially sales skills was a favourable competence for a MSc(Tech.) degree.

Finns are seldom natural born sellers; therefore the education should stress this competence.

Another competence that would be favourable is energy politics and legislation, both nationally and on an EU-level.

Knowing what role energy and energy decisions play in the society would be important.

Four of the respondents emphasised information technology and software skills. Three of the companies listed competence in project management as an important skill. The respondents also mentioned leadership and supervisor skills.

Basic know-how is enough, but with some work life experience added they should be able to have supervisor tasks.

English was also considered very important. Eight of the respondents saw English as a crucial language. But knowing how to communicate in an international environment was also important.

Linguistics is important, but it is not a crucial matter. We put more emphasis on understanding cultures than speaking languages. For example, it is more important to know how to meet people from Brazil than to know Portuguese.

Russian would be useful in three companies. Also communication in general is important.

Among personal qualities collaborative skills, versatility and problem-solving rank the highest.

A solid technical background is important, but social competence also matters. The greater responsibilities you get, the more important it is to have social skills.

Two of the respondents also pointed out that there are few women in this line of work. They see this as a lost potential.

How do the respondents see the correlation between education, experience, and personal qualities?

The most important desired quality in the recruiting process seems to be that the person has a sound educational background. The majority of the employers prioritise education as a mean to measure the competence of the applicant. The second most important determinant appeared to be personal qualities. Experience seems to be the least desired when the respondents ranked education, experience and personal qualities. One of the respondents actually saw experience as a disadvantage in some cases:

Experience is often a favourable competence, but sometimes it can make you narrow-minded.

From where do the companies recruit?

The companies utilised all available means to recruit, for example: contacts, traditional media, social media, work fairs, head hunters. They also recruited their summer workers and thesis-workers. The importance of LinkedIn is also growing.

The majority of the employees come from the Vaasa region. The importance of recruiting from other cities and countries is also growing since most of the companies need more employees.

Discussion and conclusion

This study mapped what competences the energy technology companies in Vaasa ask for. The study suggested that the companies are looking for graduates with a sound educational background in engineering. They also favoured a broad know-how base in electricity, automation technology, production of electricity and IT-skills. The companies valued studies of efficient energy systems, power plant technology, fuels and frequency converter solutions. The companies were also looking to recruit MSc(Tech.) graduates with economic competence, especially with sales skills. Competence in energy politics and legislation, project management, leadership and supervisor skills was also appreciated. A MSc(Tech.) graduate should also have collaborative skills, be versatile, and know how to solve problems. The graduate should have a command of English and know how to communicate, especially in an international environment. Speaking Russian would also be an advantage.

These findings confirm the hypothesis set before the study and match the results of Korhonen-Yrjänheikki (2011). Both studies conclude that today´s engineers need to be versatile, know how to collaborate and work in an international environment.

Some of the conclusions from Knocke et al. (2003) & Sunthonkanokpong (2011) are that flexible employees are favourable and that they should have social competence. Our study supported this conclusion. In the study of Sunthonkanokpong (2011) he also listed a strong sense of professionalism, communication and analytical skills, practical inventiveness, creativity, business and management skills and leadership abilities as qualities for successful engineers. Our study also supported these finding when the respondents listed business, management and leadership skills as important competences.

The findings also indicate that graduates need to be diverse and lifelong learners. This corresponds to earlier findings (EU 2006, Ostrobothnia 2013).

Recruiting through HR personnel and recruiting companies may build up a filter between candidates and operational personnel. Important pieces of information e.g. concerning advanced competence may get lost in the process. This concern arises from the very broad list of advanced skills mapped – 16 different groups. Another explanation for the wide spectra of competences could be that energy technology is a very broad concept. Some of the respondents work precisely with energy technology while others focus on other fields of expertise that only relates partly to this theme, hence, the many different points of view on the subject.

Another aspect could be that advanced competence might not however be what a company looks for when recruiting young people. This is also a weakness of the study: most of the interviews started with a discussion on what the companies would expect from graduates with a MSc(Tech.) degree, but sometimes the discussion became a more open conversation on what the companies are generally looking for when recruiting.

Conducting this study by interviews had its advantages, but also disadvantages. One weakness is that the companieswere contacted, and then they chose who would be the most suitable for an interview. Generally, the CEOs and head of departments had a greater understanding of what type of technical competence the companies needed. The heads of HR departments had a wider, but shallower, perception of recruiting. Therefore, we would say that it has been more beneficial for the study to interview the personnel who are more operational. The problem was noted during the study and therefore, in one case, we completed with one more interview to get a deeper understanding of the competence need of the company.

In the discussions with the respondents the university and the companies acquired a channel for communication. The companies and the respondents know more about the MSc(Tech.) programme. The aim is to continue discussions. Some direct substantial benefits are: contact information and guidelines on how to give students a chance to do their thesis work at the companies. During the discussions it also became clear that many companies are positive about letting their employees continue with postgraduate research. Many of the respondents are also willing to introduce their companies to students. Some of the companies also stated that they are positive about a continuing exchange between companies, research institutions and universities.

Further research

This study can be seen as a first stage of mapping skills, getting familiar with the research environment and methods. There are many interesting ways to proceed: the mapped results could be used as a base for a questionnaire sent to a larger group of personnel within the companies, with pre-specified background (for example, HR-personnel, operation personnel, group leaders, division leaders). The amount of answers per company could be weighted to correlate with the amount of employee in Vaasa – this would probably give information that can easily be generalised.

Another way to proceed is to interview engineers that have been recruited in Vaasa. This would give results from another point of view and probably at the same time map missing skills and needs of postgraduate education. This would also enable a comparison between perceptions of employers and employees about competences required.

The correlation between the educational background (university and education programme) of the candidate recruited and the operational staff making the final decision of recruitment would also be worth investigating. Knowing the content and level of basic and advanced engineering skills probably helps to recognise a competence that feels familiar and safe – ‘birds of a feather flock together’. However, a certain diversity of educational backgrounds bring new nuance of expertise, new ways of working and it is said that new ideas and innovations easily flower in a multidisciplinary environment. This latter aspect might though be too challenging to show.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the respondents from the companies for their valuable time and comments. They made room in their busy schedules and for an hour they focused on discussing their needs, education issues and how they see the future. The authors would also like to thank Jerker Johnson from Österbottens förbund and Hannu Katajamäki, the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Vaasa, for their input. The authors also thank Rober Olander at Technology Centre Oy Merinova Aband Dick Staffans at the Centre for Lifelong Learning at Åbo Akademi University and Novia University of Applied Sciences for helpful information. The authors also thank the foundations who sponsor the education programme –Högskolestiftelseni Österbotten, Aktiastiftelseni Vasa, The Harry Schauman Foundation and Svensk-Österbottniska Samfundet.

Notes

1. A website that compiles figures on how many applicants Finnish education programmes have.

2. If both of the respondents from Wärtsilä listed the same competence, it was still counted as one.

3. The first interview was supplemented with a phone interview to get a deeper understanding of what kind of technical competence the company was looking for.

4. Due to lack of time this interview was conducted by phone.

5. Former KWH Pipe Oy, even though the future of the company was insecure at the time of the interview. On 1 July 2013, the fusion of Oy KWH-Pipe Ab and Uponor was completed (Uponor, 2013). Even though the future is unpredictable, the company has had a great impact on the number of job opportunities in Vaasa. Therefore, the company was also included in the study.

6. Definition by Technology Centre Oy Merinova Ab. ‘At least 50% of the revenue is used in energy technology, to produce energy or services within the field. This includes producing components and subcontractors.’

Appendix 1 (originally in Swedish or Finnish, translated here to English)

Dear XX,

My name is Luzilla Backa and I work as an amanuensis, together with Professor Margareta Wihersaari, at the MSc(Tech.) in energy technology at Åboa Akademi in Vaasa.

Our education programme is new and now we would like to develop it so it corresponds to the demands of the workforce in the industry.

Our starting point for a scientific paper is what future demands of graduates with a MSc(Tech.) the companies in the Vaasa region require. (For example, what should be their competences, what should be stressed in the education/research?)

We are conducting this research by interviewing keypersons at the companies with the most employees in the Vaasa region.

Would it be possible for you to participate?

Best regards,

Luzilla Backa

Appendix 2 (originally in Swedish or Finnish, translated here to English)

1. What qualities are you looking for when hiring: What is the most important? (→What should we focus on in education?)

2. Are there enough competent persons to hire?

3. If you have to grade the following: (1) Education, (2) Experience, (3) Personal qualities, (4) Other (?)– What is the most important in the recruiting process?

4. Where do you find the people you hire?

5. What do you think the future has to hold?

6. How do you see the future in Vaasa?