Stenbock House, 11 April 2018 – yesterday evening, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas visited the technology centre of the energy and automation company ABB in Jüri and acquainted with the group’s activities. With Jukka Patrikainen, the Managing Director of ABB Estonia, Ratas discussed the company’s future plans and discussed how to make Estonia an even more attractive and entrepreneur-friendly environment.
The discussion addressed the challenges faced by the technology and energy sector. According to the prime minister, the role of the government is to approach the deficiencies individually and comprehensively and give companies certainty.
“The meeting raised the issue of training of competent electrical and mechanical engineering specialists and production managers. From the state’s perspective, it is extremely important to know if labour supply meets the labour needs, and direct feedback from major companies will naturally help to better assess whether and which changes are needed in the educational policy,” Ratas said.
“I encourage both higher education and vocational schools to involve the technology sector more in developing their curricula, as it is clear that better and more cohesive cooperation is also the basis of a livelier economy,” he added.
According to Ratas, the investments made by large-scale foreign companies in Estonia for the development of our economy and the creation of high-paying jobs are important, and there are several possibilities for increased cooperation. “One possible solution would be to introduce new product groups into the Estonian unit or to develop the use of renewable energy. We have been testing wind generators for several years in our coastal regions and we also wish for ABB to use Estonia as a test and development site for renewable energy,” said the prime minister.
Ratas acknowledged the company’s contribution to the Estonian economy. “There are few employers as large and long-standing in Estonia. The organisational culture of ABB is well suited to our business environment and it was a pleasure to hear that the group is satisfied with the high qualifications and level of motivation of the people of Estonia. I hope that the meeting gave a signal that our country is open to the creation of a favourable business environment for entrepreneurs,” said the prime minister.
“We are glad that the government and the prime minister continue to have a strong interest in the well-being of major industrial companies,” said Jukka Patrikainen, the Managing Director of ABB Baltics. “I confirm that ABB continues to contribute to the Estonian economy and society. We also hope to cooperate with the state to solve important problems inhibiting entrepreneurship, especially labour-related issues.”
ABB is an international industrial group that mainly produces energy equipment for power plants, power transmission systems, and automation and robot systems. The company has approximately 150,000 employees in nearly a hundred countries. ABB has been operating in Estonia since 1992, employing more than 1,300 people. ABB has won the “Foreign Investor of the Year” award issued by Enterprise Estonia five times and the “Entrepreneurship Award”, which is awarded to the best company in Estonia, in 2008.
Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tat1ssqve9smq2t/AAD036xRvJ7vmiqNJl2KgC6Qa?dl=0