Like many others, he believed that shipping was a limited industry with few types of jobs. After completing the Lighthouse trainee programme, Isak Tidala knows better.
Today he works at the ship-technical consultancy company Saltech, which among other things, reviews whether newly built military vessels purchased by the Swedish Armed Forces are constructed correctly.

His interest in boats has been there for as long as he can remember. But not sailboats, which might be considered the classic interest in such contexts. Isak Tidala did spend every summer of his childhood at the family’s summer house in the Stockholm archipelago, but no sails were ever raised. Instead, they drove motorboats – quite large ones, in fact.

“I’ve been behind the wheel since I was five years old, but I’ve only set foot on a sailboat a handful of times in my life,” he says with a laugh.

After attending Kunskapsgymnasiet, he enrolled in KTH’s bachelor’s programme in Design and Product Development. When it was time to take the step up to the master’s level, he saw his opportunity – he would combine his hobby and his education and become a shipbuilder, or as even Swedes now say: a naval architect.

“I also wrote my bachelor’s thesis in the field of naval architecture. We measured noise from recreational boats to investigate how it affects marine life. It’s much louder underwater than you might think. KTH has continued the research since then.”

Research on underwater noise has grown significantly in recent years, but he himself never intended to become a researcher.

“As a naval architect, I spent an exchange semester in Lisbon. There, we designed a recreational boat, which really gave me a taste for it. I wanted to enter working life after finishing my studies.”

That’s when the Lighthouse trainee programme turned out to be a perfect fit. He had kept it in mind for some time when Lighthouse coordinator Caroline Ferning visited KTH and presented the programme during a lunch lecture.

“That was when I really started to take notice of it.”

Isak applied, was accepted, and started as a trainee in September 2024. This meant a year of placements at four different workplaces – the Swedish Maritime Administration, Wallenius Marine, Oceanbird, and SAAB. Something he does not regret.

“They are very diverse organisations, and you can hardly get the chance to try them all anywhere else. Being able to learn and see so much in such a short time was incredibly enriching. And it gives you the opportunity to discover what you personally enjoy, where your interests lie, and what kind of company you thrive in.”

So what was the most fun?

“Getting to try so many different tasks. You learn an insane amount. You meet lots of people and quickly build a network. And you really notice that the companies want to share their knowledge and show how their workplaces function,” says Isak Tidala.

There was also a fair amount of travel. During his trainee year, Isak visited the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, and Belgium.

“It was interesting to travel on a vessel from Antwerp up to Finland and see how things work in practice. I got to map the cooling water system on board, and I was down under the deck plates, crawling around to check the dimensioning of the pipes. It was fun to be involved in some hands-on work as well.”

Between upper secondary school and KTH, he completed his military service, and during the trainee year (at SAAB) he got the opportunity to take a look at the Armed Forces’ new submarine, which is soon to enter production.

“That gave me a bit of a taste for the defence industry.”

In other words, it is no coincidence that he now works at the ship-technical consultancy company Saltech, which, among other things, assists the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) with design reviews of vessels.

“I was in contact with Saltech even before I started the Lighthouse trainee programme. They encouraged me to do the programme. Today it’s seen as valuable experience. And it really is. I highly recommend it. Just apply!”

The application period for the trainee programme 2026/2027 is open from 15 December 2025 to 22 February 2026.
More information here