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Elkem is one of the world’s leading companies for en-
vironmentally responsible production of materials. Its
principal products are silicon, silicones, ferrosilicon,
foundry alloys, carbon materials and microsilica.
The company has 3800 employees, four business divi-
sions, production plants and sales offices in all parts of
the world.
... IN
ELKEM
Photo: Elkem
The company works systematically to maintain and fur-
ther develop their global organization in order to enable
the people and teams to deliver on Elkem’s ambitious
strategic targets both within commercial and technolog-
ical growth. Some examples of recruitment and develop-
ment activities supporting.
Elkem’s strategy:
1.
Elkem University and other internal high level
technology competence development programs
2.
Elkem Leadership and Elkem Excellence
management training programs
3.
Elkem’s global trainee program
4.
Cooperation with Norwegian academia and
industry within long-term programs for
competence development at different knowledge
levels and different areas of competencies.
Today, the Elkem trainee program serves as an efficient
recruitment arena for technologists with an MSc back-
ground. In addition to excellent academic results during
studies, personal qualities like; initiative, responsibility,
engagement, attitude to safety and teamwork are highly
valued.
To follow the students during their participation in, for
instance in the “SFI Metal Production” centre, is there-
fore a good opportunity to get to know the candidates
and guide them in the desired direction to a smooth
transfer to employment in the industry.
Over the last 10 years, more than 40 MSc candidates have
been through the trainee program in Elkem and are now
employed as furnace metallurgists, process leaders,
researchers etc. and some has returned to university
as “Industrial-PhD” students. This continuous feed of
highly qualified people into Elkem is necessary to secure
a sustainable development of the company.
Elkem has a corporate R&D centre with more than 100
employees and, in addition, R&D groups in each division.
A majority of the researchers have a background as PhD
and/or postdocs from NTNU. SFI Metal Production rep-
resents a new possibility to educate new PhD candidates
within the research areas that the Norwegian silicon-,
manganese- and aluminium industry need most.
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Education and Recruitment