Produced sustainability report for AB Linde Maskiner – landed dream job in Stockholm

The fact that there is plenty of competence and skills among the thousands of students at Örebro University may not come as a surprise. What most people might not know, however, is that businesses and organisations can hire students as consultants, through, for example, the student consultancy services, Studentuppdrag.

Mattias Österberg, head of HR at AB Linde Maskiner, decided to make use of this opportunity.

­“I’m an Örebro University graduate myself and I know there’s a lot of skills and knowledge to tap into there. I also know that as a student, you’re eager to get out and use what you’ve learnt in a real-life setting.”

Sustainability – a way to stand out in the competition

AB Linde Maskiner is a sheet metal processing company based in Lindesberg and its customers primarily include the heavy vehicle industry. To stand out in a tough market, the company has invested in sustainability, among other things working in compliance with the ISO 26000 standard.

“We know that producing sustainability reports will be a requirement also for businesses our size in the future. We want to take the lead and decided to get to work now. A sustainability report is important, both within the company and for showing stakeholders our approach to sustainability,” says Mattias Österberg.

The problem was that AB Linde Maskiner had neither the time nor knowledge to produce a sustainability report. Mattias Österberg therefore turned to Örebro University’s student consultancy services and was able to hire student Klara Eriksson part-time.

“Incredible experience to be able to do what I’m passionate about”

Klara Eriksson was at the final stages of her one-year master’s programme, taking classes in sustainable business and entrepreneurship at Örebro University as well as courses in project and operations development and sustainability reporting at other universities. She immediately knew this was a project for her.

“It was completely in line with what I want to do and it sounded very interesting.”

The assignment involved her producing AB Linde Maskiner’s first sustainability report and designing goals and performance indicators that the company can incorporate in their future sustainability efforts. She also put together an in-service training course on sustainability, as well as a work process for supplier assessments.

“Thanks to my training at Örebro University, I felt confident and well prepared for the tasks and challenges I faced. To be able to do what I’m passionate about for the first time was an incredible and rewarding experience as I self-managed my work to a great extent. The assignment has made me even more motivated to work with sustainability and it has opened my eyes to Swedish industry, which has a key role to play in our green transition,” says Klara Eriksson.

Led to permanent position in Stockholm: “A dream come true”

The result impressed Mattias Österberg and AB Linde Maskiner.

­“Beyond expectations. The sustainability report turned out great and we now have a plan for how we should continue our work with a range of performance indicators. What’s more, Klara was able to hold almost 80 per cent of the in-service training sessions,” he says and continues:

­“This is a win-win for both parties. Being able to put something like this on your CV can be a way in to your first job. If I’d been able to, I would have hired her on the spot.”

It turned out that Mattias Österberg and AB Linde Maskiner were not the only ones impressed by Klara Eriksson’s work.

“I’ve now finished my studies and I’m about to enter the world of work. My studies and this assignment gave me the experience I needed to find employment as a sustainability consultant in Stockholm. It’s a dream come true and I’m honoured to have been on this journey,” says Klara Eriksson.