It was actually not in the cards for Laila Teibe Johansen to first become a craftsman and now a project manager at Seasight Group, where she mostly works on projects for the wind industry. The 35-year-old project manager and mother of three girls clearly remembers how she ended up becoming an apprentice as a blacksmith.
- I had worked as a temporary worker at a juice factory in Ringkøbing, which closed. Then my husband asked if I wanted to learn how to be a small blacksmith, remembers Laila Teibe Johansen.
Her husband was already part of the shipyard industry, because he is a project manager and co-owner of Vestværftet in Hvide Sande.
Laila Teibe Johansen already had an education as an office assistant, which she had taken in Latvia before she came to Denmark in 2008. And an education as a small blacksmith, where welding is part of the work, was not immediately right for her.
- I told my husband: The only thing I know about welding is that you have to look the other way when welding is happening, says Laila Teibe Johansen and laughs heartily.
But she was convinced anyway, and shortly afterwards she sat for an interview about an apprenticeship as a small blacksmith at Seasight Group.
- They asked about my qualifications. I said I can cook, clean and use a PC, says Laila Teibe Johansen, who remembers what she also said in the conversation:
- If I'm being completely honest, I don't know much, but I want to learn something new.
And it was an honesty that was heard and understood at Seasight Group, because Laila got her apprenticeship.
While her husband could see his wife as a small blacksmith, it was something different with her friends and her mother.
- "That's not you at all," said my Latvian friends. And my mother thinks I should find something more "girly", says Laila Teibe Johansen, who did not let herself be talked out of her apprenticeship.
Education gave a huge boost
Today she has no doubts about her decision back in 2018.
- It is one of the best decisions of my life. I loved that education and the different types of welding. I also gained knowledge about steel and how to read technical drawings, and I have learned to use an angle grinder, she says.
It took a while to dare to use an angle grinder.
- The first six months of school I let the boys cut with angle grinders for me, says Laila Teibe Johansen, who remembers her time at school.
- I was the only girl and the oldest, but the others were able to accept me. One of the boys taught me how to use the angle grinder. And he ended up becoming a journeyman here, so we are colleagues now.
The training also provided personal development
But it has not only been professional development for her.
- The training has given me self-confidence, before I was a quiet mouse, says Laila Teibe Johansen, explaining her own development:
- You get black in the head from dust as a small blacksmith. It meant that I didn't have to think about making a big deal out of myself. I could stop wearing make-up and nail polish. I used to wear high heels a lot, but now I hardly do that anymore.
It has also given me something to let go of.
- It gives you freedom to let go of the feminine. You are still feminine and a girl, and it has given me a better balance to be able to let go of that, says Laila Teibe Johansen, who laughs and admits that she wears make-up.
She also has a message for other young women.
- I think more girls should take a tradesman's course, for example as a blacksmith. It is not physically hard, but it requires concentration when you weld, she says.
The leap to project manager
It was not only welding that Laila Teibe Johansen liked during her apprenticeship.
- We had to draw a lot in 3D during the course. Time disappeared like nothing when I was drawing. I was completely lost in it, she says.
Even before she finished her apprenticeship, she was called for an interview with her employer, where she received a good offer.
- They said: "It's not a job with drawing, but we can offer you a position as a project manager". It is impossible to describe how happy I was. I walked away with the biggest smile for the rest of the day, Laila Teibe Johansen says today about the offer she accepted.
This meant that a month before the apprenticeship was finished, she started as a project manager in December 2022. She had already passed all the courses in her education. Today she works mostly with projects for the wind industry.
- We make various tools for our customers. I make calculations on time and what it will cost. It can be spare parts and large items, such as lifting yokes. Right now I'm working on crane galleries for nacelles, says Laila Teibe Johansen, who also sees an advantage in the vocational training as a background:
- Being a blacksmith gives me an extra skill. It's a big advantage with the practical knowledge, and I know almost everyone in production. The community here is so important.
There's no doubt that she's landed on the right shelf.
- I absolutely love this job, and it gives me a boost, concludes Laila Teibe Johansen.
Her employer Seasight Group in Hvide Sande has a goal of being inclusive. The company has also supported the recently concluded Hvide Sande Sustainability Festival 2023 with a sponsorship of one of the 17 sculptures on the SDG route.
Seasight Groups has sponsored their sculpture with SDG number eight, which is, among other things, about the inclusion of female migrants in working life. A bit like West Jutland, the company doesn't talk so much about the values, they live them and act accordingly. But inclusion is now also part of the company's CSR policy.
Updated 17.10.23. at 9:20.
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