Immold is a successful family company whose management, headed by director Goran Janković, strives to realise its vision: for experience and efficacy on the Serbian market to slowly but surely lead to the conquering of the European market, and for everything that is good, including elements of dual education, to be transferred to its working environment
By paying special attention to the education and training of young personnel, Požega-based Inmold Plast has moved a step ahead of the times. As of this year, the founder of INTEC (Inmold Technical Education Centre) has formed as a special sector within the framework of its company that deals with the professional training of young people for the needs of its firm. At this centre, they receive expert practical and theoretical knowledge in all technically required fields.
On which standards and procedures are your company based?
Our company possesses and successfully implements certified standards ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
We follow European standards and norms in the business that we do, and that is the development of tools for casting plastic parts and the production of plastic parts with special emphasis on us being specialists in the production of tools and robots for the injection moulding of IML packaging for food and chemical products, with the aim of being one of several recognisable companies working in this field.
I can state with pride that in this area we have ever more jobs and utilised capacity in this kind of work is almost 80 per cent, while we are recognised by our competitors from Europe as experts worthy of respect in this area.
We try to give young people our all, and it is up to them with their work to contribute to their own professional advancement or stagnation
Although dual education has not yet been institutionalised in Serbia, Inmold has for years employed young people from the region and trained them to work in its production facilities. How do you make your selections and where do your candidates for training most commonly come from?
For the fifth year already we have a business and technical cooperation with the Požega Technical School, from which we get part of our required personnel upon the completion of their schooling. Of the total number of scholarship recipients, 50 per cent found work in our company, 25 per cent went to college and the rest did not find their place in this profession.
A second way is for interested youngsters to apply via our website, through which they undergo two rounds of interviews, and then entrance tests in order for us to assess their overall capabilities: skill tests, safety and environmental protection measure, on which we place great emphasis. Those that show confidence pass to work placement and training that lasts three months. After this period they gain their first job, with less responsibility and the possibility of furthering improving and progressing in this field.
The third way is through cooperation with the National Employment Service, which maximally meets our needs and makes recommendations for candidates that could be interesting for our business activities. These are mostly candidates who have completed technical direction with a specialisation in mechanical engineering.
In the absence of machining sector qualifications, a chance is given to candidates from other technical departments who accept retraining. For now, we have good candidates from Požega and the surrounding municipalities of Kosjerić, Arilje and Užice.
Inmold’s production facility is located in Požega, which has fewer than 30,000 inhabitants and lots of unemployed young people. How much interest is there in training at Inmold among young people?
Young people increasingly understand what a promising profession is that is not just sitting next to a computer, familiarizing themselves with the virtual world, such as social networks, working in cold storage, picking raspberries, etc. But rather a more complex profession that has everything that is needed by a young, business and family man.
For me, that is the mechanical engineering profession, and from day to day interest is growing evermore. Perhaps this is a result of the crisis in which the country finds itself, so young people are slowly realising what they should do and which route to take. As our people would say “every evil has its good side”.
We have in our ranks plenty of young workers, both those that are highly skilled and those who have yet to pass through our school. Our average age is about 30 among 140 employees, which is certainly commendable! We try to give young people our all, and it is up to them with their work to contribute to their own professional advancement or stagnation.
How is your training of candidates implemented and how long does it usually take?
Depending on a candidate’s preferences and prior knowledge, we determine which machine they will be trained to operate. Immold has many options: from manual processing to operators of universal lathes, universal milling machines, grinders, assembly tools, CNC milling machines, CNC lathes, CNC EDM and other supporting activities, such as procurement and commercial work.
Training deadlines depend primarily on prior knowledge in the field of mechanical engineering. We estimate this already in the phase of the interviews and entrance tests that are carried out with potential candidates. Selected candidates start with theoretical and practical training that can last from three to six months.
After two to three years of active work on a machine, they can expect real results and independence in the production process for more complex tasks. Just as rakija needs to be rested for a while in order to gain quality, provided that it was previously well distilled, so in this job, a little time is needed for some things from the profession to snap into place.
Does Inmold have the support and assistance of the local government when it comes to carrying out such important activities that contribute to youth employment?
Unfortunately, we have not had proper support to date. We have addressed them with a request to make available to us part of some business premises (Balon hall, Budimka factory etc.) in order for us to be able to expand and in the short period of a year hire at least another 100 young people.
What are Inmold’s future business plans and what is your projection for the further advancement of dual education at Inmold in Požega and the immediate region?
From the very start of doing business independently, I have faced a chronic shortage of skilled labour, despite the fact that I am
- the first practical founder of cooperative (dual) education in Serbia, five years ago
- the founder of the centre for contemporary technology, four years ago
- the organiser of many practical seminars in mechanical engineering for young entrepreneurs.
By paying special attention to the education and training of young personnel, Požega-based Inmold Plast has moved a step ahead of the times.
By paying special attention to the education and training of young personnel, Požega-based Inmold Plast has moved a step ahead of the times. As of this year, the founder of INTEC (Inmold Technical Education Centre) has formed as a special sector within the framework of its company that deals with the professional training of young people for the needs of its firm.
At this centre, they receive expert practical and theoretical knowledge in all technically required fields. We have carefully selected subjects in order for them to provide the most tangible possible knowhow and therefore prepare a young person for modern business operations in the 21st century.
First of all the classroom was equipped with supporting equipment for the purposes of holding seminars, training sessions, motivational presentations and theoretical instructions.
Lectures are attended by a large number of employees from various themed areas depending on their sphere of interest and the job they do (mathematics, English language, business and global research, informatics, hydraulics, pneumatics, electrical engineering etc.).
The second part of INTEC is the workshop part, equipped with complete equipment for manual processing required for six job posts. Complete equipment for all jobs was purchased for the purposes of manual processing. Around €15,000 was invested in equipping this educational unit.
INTEC has also equipped its own library with a significant number of books in the field of mechanical engineering, while there is also a place for staff recreation.
In accordance with financial possibilities, in the period ahead the plan is for INTEC to be installed with new machines: CNC lathe, CNC milling machine, equipment for testing hydraulic and pneumatic components, both for the training of students and employees in basic electrical engineering and electronics and plastic injection machines.
The plan is for this centre to become a place that brings together young people from technical professions, primarily mechanical engineering, from the Zlatibor district and beyond; a place where everyone who comes will feel good, where they will be able to learn something, to share something with someone, and during breaks to be leisurely and relaxed, with the possibility of gaining a secure job.