The first edition of the orientation course organised by TK Elevator Italia in partnership with Randstad, which involved over 110 students from three technical institutes, has come to an end

To open up to the territory and introduce young people to the world of lift engineering, which can offer important opportunities for growth: this is the motivation behind TKE Academy, TK Elevator Italia’s initiative that, from February to May 2024, involved over 110 students in the 4th and 5th year of three Milanese high schools (Istituto Salesiano, IIS Galvani and I.P. -Galilei Luxemburg) in a series of training meetings to deepen their knowledge of the sector.

Developed in partnership with Randstad, a leading talent company in the HR sector, the orientation path was structured in two phases: first, the young people had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the specific professional field and the advantages that a job such as that of lift technician can represent in terms of acquiring new skills and continuous training, but also in terms of career opportunities, thanks to the testimonies of TK Elevator Italia employees and, subsequently, they were invited to visit the company’s headquarters, in Cologno Monzese, where they put themselves to the test by witnessing real and virtual maintenance operations through Augmented Reality, with Hololens.

For the fifth grade students, it was also possible to carry out a mock interview through a speed date with company managers: an activity designed to give students the opportunity to confront an essential step in the job search phase.

TKE Academy, l’iniziativa di TK Elevator Italia

Also speaking at the meetings was Noemi, the first female technician at TKE Italia, who recounted her own experience testifying to the effectiveness and completeness of the training courses provided by the company. A graduate of the scientific high school, with no experience or sector knowledge, the young woman is following the training programme that will lead her to obtain her technician’s licence and is gaining experience in the field by working on one of the fastest installations in Italy, the one in the Lombardy Region building.

“Thanks to this initiative, which we aim to replicate and expand for the next school year, we had the opportunity to get in touch with and listen to those who will be the workers of tomorrow, their needs, but also their aspirations,’ said Paolo Landone, Head of Human Resources. – ‘Companies like ours have in technology and innovation a definite strong point in their ability to attract young talent. This is combined with stable contracts and specific training paths that allow our people to count on a continuous increase in skills and competences, as well as an important income lever.”

TK Elevator Italia’s offer for new recruits, even those without specific experience and skills, takes the form of a training course, aimed at obtaining the lift operator’s technical licence, of about 330 hours in total, more than 70% of which focus on safety notions (a core value for TKE) and technical skills; the rest of the training programme is dedicated to the management and knowledge of products, solutions and policies specific to TK Elevator Italia.

According to the Randstad report ‘Building the Construction of the Future’, in fact, the difficulty in finding electronic technicians for the civil construction sector is close to 75%. In practice, about 7,000 operators are missing, a trend that is destined to grow, also considering the progressive modernisation of buildings in our country.

Electronics, CAD software, project drawings, circuit diagrams and firmware, i.e. integrated software, are the main skills required of this type of profile, in addition to knowledge that must necessarily range from mechanics to electronics, to which, however, important soft skills are also added, such as, for example, those useful for managing relations with customers (residents, condominiums, building administrators, etc.), work organisation, and meeting deadlines.

These are skills that can accelerate the growth path, which, in the case of lift technicians, includes, as subsequent steps, the role of supervisor, at the head of a team of more than 5 technicians, up to the highest level, that of ‘adjuster’, i.e. the ‘Mr Wolf’ of lifts, capable of solving even the most complicated cases.

A growth that can also be transversal, as demonstrated by the figure of Omar Riva, today Managing Director and General Manager of TK Elevator Italia, who began his career, over 20 years ago, precisely as a technician.