Training in glass construction exists, but voluntary courses are cancelled due to lack of participants. The work is currently learnt in practice on the job.
Glass construction has gained in popularity and the range of applications has expanded in recent years.
The construction season starts in spring, but is quieter in the winter.
– Large glazing, discreet structures and sliding glass doors have long been a trend. Glass is also used in vehicles and as smart glass solutions for partition walls in offices and hospitals,” says Heikkilä.
The Suomen Tasolasiyhdis has around 140 members, and according to Heikkilä, the industry employs more than 3,000 people. The size of the companies varies from one or two employees of a window glass company to a few hundreds of insulating glass factories.
The challenge of low awareness
Jenni Heikkilä believes that the boom in glass construction will continue in the future.
The growing sector could provide work for construction professionals, for example. The challenge is that glass construction is poorly known, and there is almost no training.
For example, the Education Center Salpaus says that there have been so few people coming to the optional courses organized in addition to construction studies, that it has not been worth organizing them.
According to Heikkilä, the situation is similar in different parts of Finland.
At the beginning of March, eight full-time jobs were open for glaziers in different parts of Finland in the Työmarkkinatori of TE centers. Tasks vary from construction to installing car windows.
Become a glass specialist in the pees of a more experienced
You learn to become a glass industry professional in practice at workplaces.
The family business from Lahti, which employs twelve permanent employees, has been operating for fifty years, of which the current management has twenty years.
There are jobs from installations to custom work and repairs that require manual labor. A fully professional glazier must master many different work steps and be able to handle glass outside on the construction sites and inside the hall.
– It’s a long process, and it takes an estimated three to four years before being able to operate independently, says Granqvist.
A sense of belonging as part of other studies
According to the long-time Lahti entrepreneur, knowledge of the construction industry provides a good basis for learning on the job.
– If you go to work in this field, there will be enough work if you have the right willpower, Granqvist encourages.
However, he sees that Glass Construction should be made a more integral part of the studies. It would increase interest and facilitate employment.
– Education should be increased, and learning glass should be included in the content of someone’s education as mandatory, not optional. There are always people who are left with a little spark to find out what this glass industry is.