The Trainee Programme Introduced Emil to the Industry

A friend and former Lighthouse trainee inspired him to apply. Another former trainee ensured a job awaited him right after the one-year program ended. Emil Nilsson has no regrets about his year in the Lighthouse Trainee Programme.
"I mostly work with coast guard and military boats, and... oh yes, we’re also going to electrify a couple of the Älvsnabben ferries that run between Stenpiren and Lindholmen in Gothenburg. Their diesel generators will be replaced with batteries, making the ferries fully electric," says Emil Nilsson.
Since October 2024, he has been working at Gothia Marine in Gothenburg—a consultancy where everyone, like himself, is a naval architect. The company offers design and project management services, working on everything from new builds and conversions to repairs for shipping companies, shipyards, and suppliers.
"Next year, we’ll be one of the companies welcoming trainees from the Lighthouse Trainee Program. The program will get even better then," Emil says with a laugh.
Yes, he’s satisfied. As a Lighthouse trainee, you get to try out many different things at various workplaces.
"I didn’t really know what I wanted to do as a naval architect. The field is so broad. Did I want to focus on hydrostatics, structures, hydrodynamics, calculations, or perhaps project management?"
Let’s rewind. Let’s go back to the beginning.
Originally, Emil, born and raised in Stockholm, was going to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an engineer.
"I was accepted into industrial engineering and management in Linköping. But then it suddenly hit me—Linköping isn’t by the sea. How would I manage there? I had a sort of late teenage rebellion and applied to the maritime officer program at Chalmers in Gothenburg."
Summers spent at the family’s cottage in the Stockholm archipelago and his grandfather’s sailboat had left their mark. But after his first internship, he realized that being a maritime officer wasn’t for him either. He did, however, enjoy living in Gothenburg, where his friends and his girlfriend, whom he had met there, were. So, he decided to pursue mechanical engineering at Chalmers.
"After three years there, I wanted to study something I really enjoyed. I wanted to build fast sailboats and had heard about the naval architecture program. A friend of mine was also in the program and spoke highly of it. So, the choice became clear."
That same friend, Fabian Ebbesson, later joined the Lighthouse Trainee Program and also recommended it—for those wanting to try out different things and get paid, it’s perfect.
Emil applied, was accepted, and started as a trainee in September 2023. The program involved a year of internships at four different workplaces: SAAB Kockums in Malmö, Oceanbird in Stockholm, Stena Teknik in Gothenburg, and the Swedish Maritime Administration in Norrköping.
"It was educational and fun everywhere. Besides trying out different tasks, you also get to experience different corporate cultures, cities, and parts of the maritime industry. I actually think the industry consists of many different sectors. I got to work on submarine development, wing sail development, cargo shipping, pilotage, and icebreaking. These are completely different worlds."
Speaking of different worlds, his months at Stena Teknik involved trips to shipyards in Poland, Turkey, and China.
"It was especially fun working at shipyards. You get to see how things work in reality, things you can’t learn in school. I also like working with my hands and enjoy being in that kind of environment. In my current job, I participate in some tests and inspections at shipyards, which I find exciting."
Emil also enjoyed experiencing new cultures, especially in China, where many things were different.
"I was a bit nervous about traveling to a dictatorship and kept my personal phone in airplane mode during the two and a half weeks I was there. It’s definitely a Big Brother society with surveillance cameras everywhere. But it was also fun to explore Weihai, where the shipyard was located, in my free time. The city is about the same size as Gothenburg."
Another major advantage of the trainee program, Emil believes, is the opportunity to make many connections.
"If you’re not hired by one of the companies where you intern, at least you gain references," he says.
For Emil, the takeaway was that he enjoyed all the workplaces and tasks, which he sees as a good thing—especially since he had several job offers to choose from as the program was ending. Ultimately, he chose Gothia Marine.
"Another former Lighthouse trainee, Viktor Daun, works there and reached out to me on LinkedIn in spring 2024. We met for lunch and talked a bit. It felt right, and when it was time to start job hunting, I sent him an application. I got an offer and started at the office near Fiskhamnen in Gothenburg in October."
The application deadline for the Lighthouse Trainee Program 2024/2025 is February 9.
Learn more about it here.
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