Teppo Suonpää

Teppo Suonpää first arrived at Meyer Turku’s Shipbuilding School (LRO) more than 30 years ago.

– I started on LRO’s aluminium welding course in 1994, when I was 24. At the time, LNG gas tankers were being built at the shipyard, which is why there was a major nationwide recruitment campaign under way. During the intensive three-month course, we learned the secrets of aluminium welding under the guidance of skilled instructors. The course was quite similar to the school’s courses today, meaning it included theory and a lot of practical work, Teppo describes.

Teppo had a permanent job at a machine workshop, but better pay and the opportunity to work in a shipyard environment attracted him to Turku. The promise of steady employment also appealed to the young man, who was already thinking far ahead. Right after the course, he started working as a welder in hull assembly at the building dock, where he stayed for ten years.

Due to the demands of his life situation, Teppo moved on to other work for ten years. Eventually, however, the pull of the shipyard became too strong, and he returned in 2015. When the demanding physical work in hull assembly was no longer suitable for him, his employer made retraining possible. Teppo has trained, among other things, as a VT inspector, completed an IWS course and gained a qualification as a work technician. At the shipyard, he has had the opportunity to work in several less physically demanding roles.

– I have been very happy with the system and the opportunities that retraining has given me. I have been able to train through my employer much more than would have been possible in smaller companies, Teppo says.

I would definitely recommend LRO’s courses to everyone. We have highly skilled staff teaching here, and if you have the motivation, you will learn and find employment.

For a long time, Teppo had a secret dream of becoming a teacher. Having previously guided newer employees as well, he wanted to pass on his own expertise.

– Eventually, I hinted to the school’s principal that I might be interested in teaching work. According to the principal, older, experienced professionals were needed as teachers, so things worked out. I completed vocational teacher training, and now I have been teaching for a couple of years. I teach welding theory as well as practical work.

Studying at LRO is very hands-on. There is also plenty of theory at the beginning of the training, which Teppo says can at first feel confusing for students. According to him, students do absorb the theory towards the end of the course, once they already have plenty of practical training behind them.

– For example, welding is taught a great deal on the courses, and students are shown step by step how everything is done. Welding cannot be taught on a computer or through theory alone, because the work requires so much hand-eye coordination. You only learn the work by doing it, and it requires a lot of repetition, Teppo says of the studies.

At LRO, students learn the basic skills of shipbuilding in a short period of time. Although real skill and speed only develop once you are doing the work, the courses provide all the necessary practical skills needed to manage in the job. Teppo points out that it also depends on the individual how well they take things in.

– I would definitely recommend LRO’s courses to everyone. We have highly skilled staff teaching here, and if you have the motivation, you will learn and find employment. Of course, you need to be suited to physical work, and you need to be able to do a lot of repetition. The work also becomes easier over time, once you find the right working positions and become familiar with the equipment, Teppo encourages.