WRITTEN BY SIMON BERGSTRÖM

Simon Bergström started his career as an electrical installer before starting his studies to become a Lighting Consultant. It was during his studies he first encountered Helvar.

 

 

How I came in contact with Helvar

My first introduction to Helvar was through a theme day regarding lighting controls during my studies to become a lighting consultant. The theme day and lectures from the companies were so interesting that I decided to focus my internships on lighting control companies.

After two years of studies from my sofa and living room (because of COVID) I graduated and was about to enter work life. The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm was looking for a stage electrician and I jumped at the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes and in the workshops of a theater. My time at the theater was filled with exiting plays opening and closing but my temporary contract was coming to an end.

When it was time for me to move on, I remembered the interesting things I’d heard about Helvar during the theme day and reached out to my former student counselor for a contact. The contact was Jan Bietkowski, Country Manager at Helvar in Sweden.

Helvar felt like the right place to be 

Meeting Jan and hearing more about Helvar as an organisation, made me feel that this was the right company for me. A smaller sized company in terms of employees in Sweden but part of a global organisation.

I was offered a temporary employment to cover for a paternal leave and started in January of 2023. “We had actually taken the decision not to recruit someone to fill the temporary gap, but after Simon approached us and we had our first meeting we saw great potential and decided to offer him a temporary contract.” says Jan Bietkowski.
After about two weeks we had a conference with all the employees from around the country. This was a great opportunity to get to know the whole team and to get to see the vision of the company’s future.

My work was primarily to answer questions and give support to customers, clients and partners via phone and email. I learned everything I could about Helvar’s lighting control systems, and I joined my colleagues at commission assignments. From the start I felt right at home with all my tasks and colleagues. I even got some of my own on-site commissioning- and service assignments.

 

Starting my career 

By the end of March, Jan Bietkowski called me in for a meeting, and I got some great news. Helvar offered me a permanent contract, almost six months before my temporary contract ended. Jan continues: “Simon has, since his first week at Helvar, been a great asset and he has a very positive outlook and a pragmatic approach to learning. We have had several customers commenting on his great work so when an opportunity opened to increase our operations team it was a given to offer a permanent contract to Simon. “

With no hesitation I signed my new contract with a huge smile. I was happy to have been given this opportunity and I finally got a secure future in the lighting control industry, with an experienced employer and a role that suited my strength and interests at heart.

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