Itella launches employee re-training programme

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Finland’s national postal operator Itella has launched a new long-term personal support programme for employees to help them change jobs as the demand for postal workers reduces.

The state-owned company said it is being a responsible employer providing greater support for staff as changes in the traditional postal market mean a reduced need for labour.

It said the postal sector is undergoing major transformation as the switch to electronic communications gathers pace.

Letters and periodical distribution volumes fell by 5-8% last year, and this year expectations are for this decline to worsen.

The new support programme will help Itella employees to find alternative jobs, re-train or even start their own businesses as entrepreneurs.

As well as training and assistance to find new career directions, one-time financial compensation will be offered to employees changing job.

Jaana Jokinen, the senior vice president of Itella, said: “We want to take our community responsibility regarding investment in personnel into the area of support. The programme provides financial and personal support to Itella staff working in Finland who are looking for a new career.”

Jokinen added that the programme will run over the next three to five years.

Itella employees will be able to join the programme voluntarily, choosing from a number of different career paths – coaching, training, mentoring, job search assistance, studying for a new career or becoming an entrepreneur.

Itella will pay a lump sum as severance pay for those ending their employment.

The company said it will look to benefit from industrial partners and organisations with expertise in this area, such as the Ministry of Employment and Economics Ministry.

Modernisation

Itella said it is being forced to modernise its operations in the next few years to meet the changing customer needs while maintaining a financially stable company.

Letter volumes and publishing distribution are expected to have declined by half in the ten years up to the end of this year. But Itella delivered 1.1m more packages this year than last year, with online shopping growing by 7.5% this Christmas compared to last year’s festive season.

Jokinen said: “As e-commerce services grow, we need more professionals with an understanding of this trading sector, and the skills involved in transporting goods.”

Itella’s investment in automated parcel locker terminals has seen its network of self-service vending machines triple the number of parcels it handled this Christmas.

The company is set to expand its network with 175 more parcel terminals in 2014, bringing the total to 500.