An internship at BHS Corrugated in Shanghai – by Ms Toukta Apphaiyalath and Mr Khiew Keobountham

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Preface (J. Zeck)

One crucial goal of the BHS Corrugateds’ Recruitment and Training Programme at and with the Lao-German Technical College is to train and hire new employees for the company’s business in the Asia-Pacific region. The project is a combination of social engagement by offering scholarships to 35-40 graduates of the lower secondary school Ban Phang Hang and the company’s long term demand for skilled workers in the Asia Pacific region.

A few students taking part in the Recruitment and Training Programme will be offered practical training at subsidiaries and service teams of BHS Corrugated or even customer plants each year, in order to hire them as permanent skilled workers after their graduation from the Lao-German Technical College. Some students already took the chance to receive training abroad, e.g. in Thailand and at BHS Corrugated’s headquarter in Weiherhammer in July and August 2018. The basic requirement for an internship and later work placement abroad are English language skills, which is why the “Teaching English in Laos” project is a crucial part of the Recruitment and Training Programme.

In late 2018 a new corrugated rolls workshop was opened up in Malaysia. Corrugating rolls are the most crucial spare part in a corrugating board machine, because the roll presses the corrugation in the paper. See for yourself in this video on corrugating rolls production at Weiherhammer:

For the new workshop in Malaysia new employees will receive training in the near future in order to build up a skilled labor force there. As the BHS Human Resources Department (“HR”) has not yet found enough skilled workers in Malaysia so far, they asked whether Lao LGTC students in the Mechanical sector of the Recruiment and Training Programme might be interested in a job placement in Malaysia as from 2019.

Ms Toukta Apphaiyalath and Mr Khiew Keobountham expressed their interest in this opportunity. In order to prepare them for the job placement in Malaysia, the HR team suggested to conduct a two-month training program in the corrugating rolls workshop of BHS Corrugated in Shanghai, China. The schedule was set up and both apprentices looked forward to our joint departure to China on 7 November 2018.

I (Johannes “John” Zeck) stayed in Shanghai with them until 12 November 2018 for a few days. It was a very interesting experience for me as well – not only was it my first time in China, but it was also a revealing experience in terms of intercultural cooperation and communication. Here is Ms Toukta’s and Mr Khiew’s report on their experiences in Shanghai. As they designed it as a presentation, our readers can also download it here: Experiences_Shanghai

 

Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Peace Independent Democratic Unity Prosperity

Present by: MISS TOUKTA APHAIYALATH & MR KHIEO KEOBOUNTHAM

 

Our experience in Shanghai

On 7 November 2018 to 5 January 2019 BHS invited us MISS. TOUKTA APHAIYALTh and MR. KHIEO KEOBOUNTHAM to come to Shanghai in China. We did a practical training.

On the first day, we went to the company and company tour with JOHN. We work a lot at BHS, we rebuilt a wire model. We have learned a lot from CNC machinery about 3 weeks by professional trainer who explained clearly how to use the machine such as: Basic programing and machine operation step by step, cutting technology, etc.

After that we could design the program from the lesson that we have learn, but the trainer will give us the suggestion all the time that we did correct more information for us to it correctly.

When we learned in BHS everybody are friendly and help us everything about the machine and read the drawing we thought. We are lucky, if we learned in BHS.

This apartment is very cleaned and Comfortable. The nearest place are a lot of offices, many kind of restaurants that good taste like the noodle soup, specially the kind of noodle. But some taste of original foods here are very strange taste for me, so I can’t eat them.

On the weekend I Love to travel around the Shanghai city with JOHN and my friends. There are many places are attractive and very beautiful building such as the house style, the tall building including the shopping mall. I am very interesting of there developed technology but some where they still maintained their traditional cultural.

 

Knowledge, Skill and insights gained from internships

  • The most important thing is how to work, be safe in work.
  • Must be honest. To be able to work, as well as being enthusiastic to learn always.
  • Able to experience and work techniques that are not book study.
  • Punctuality, duties and responsibilities assigned.
  • Know About teams work and communication.
  • Be able to solve problem by yourself, more confident in work.
  • Learn about planning of work to be done.
  • Dare to express opinions and listen to reasons of others.
  • Have more skills in performing various tasks.

 

Text and photos by T. Apphaiyalath, K. Keobountham & J. Zeck

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