Good news.
Mechanical film cameras are the tools that have preserved the memories of humanity for the last 150 years. Now is our time to preserve them. As a part of the new era in the Camera Rescue project Cameramakers is opening a camera technician basic training program. In early April 2021 a team of 8 talents will start a four month long training on the basics of film camera testing and maintenance in Tampere in partnership with TAKK (Tampere Adult Education Centre) and the local unemployment office (TE-palvelut).
What?
In 2020 the current team of four camera technicians and three camera mechanics inspected over 25 000 film cameras and with a growing amount of work in sight, Kameratori Oy (the Ltd company employing the team) is looking to hire more people. As worldwide there are no training programs around film cameras available, this recruitment training was created as a first step for enthusiastic people into the world of film cameras. The training period will be very hands-on, aiming to give a full overview of all different types of cameras and equipment that passes through our process and leave the trainee with enough skills and knowhow to inspect them. The curriculum has also several weeks of related theory studies – including the basics of electronics, materials and 3D printing.
As the aim of the recruitment program is to build up the technician team based in Tampere, an applicant should be ready to relocate permanently to the city if the recruitment program leads to a job offer. A further two year training program to become a camera mechanic is being developed and can be offered to the camera technicians interested in the most artisanal aspect of the camera world – camera repairing.
The collaboration between the Adult Education Center and the Camera Rescue Project aims to create a sustainable and official way to become a certified Film Camera Mechanic or Technician for the first time in decades worldwide. A trainee will ideally become a self driven craftsman/artisan after approximately three years in the program.
The working environment of Kameratori Oy is bilingual, process driven, constantly learning and growth oriented. Serving final customers in more than 70 countries and reaching over 1 million people yearly, the ecommerce side of the company is well known around Europe, and in recent years most of the growth has come from outside of Finland.
The role of a camera technician involves very little customer service and instead is based on a lot of daily problem solving, working with your hands, and teamwork. If you have an almost unhealthy interest in technical gadgets, it is more likely that you continue from this training towards being a technician or a mechanic. However, if you are socially driven and interested in customer service, this training gives you a strong starting point to become a member of the ecommerce sales team.
Finding meaningfulness in work should be easy for people that understand the heritage, artistic and lifestyle value of film photography. More about how we got here in the last 10 years can be read here or in Finnish here.
Restrictions
During the global travel stoppage, it is hard to get into this training if you have no residency in Finland. If you are from within the EU and super motivated, there might be some workarounds, but email me at juho@camerarescue.org first. Outside of EU will not be possible this year.
Update 9.3.2021 – New travel restrictions will make it impossible to come for the first round of technician training to Finland if you are not a resident / have Finnish nationality.
If you are in Finland already or have a way to come here, the general restrictions for people attending a TE-keskus recruitment training apply to this course, so as an applicant you are to be a jobseeker in Finland. For more info on how to do that you can visit here.
Otherwise no requirements are set for applicants, because we know from experience that a good camera technician can have anything from several university degrees to no degrees at all. We want emphasize that all backgrounds are welcome. Also this program is being built to be ongoing, so more chances will come in later years for international people.
FAQ:
Does it cost money?
No.
When we arrange the program as a recruitment channel there are no costs for the teaching to a student. In fact you will be paid the whole time. During the camera technician basic training program you get the unemployment benefits you would get anyhow (amount is based on your recent work history in Finland). After the basic training, the ones chosen to stay in the program will get jobs and a salary.
When?
The crucial dates for applications and the basic training in 2021 are these:
– Application period ends 22.03.2021
– The interviews will be held 29.–30.03.2021
– The training starts on 12.04.2021 and ends on 05.08.2021.
How to apply?
The applications are done through the TE-palvelut application system. You can find the announcement of the open positions here. The application form is available both in English and Finnish, although the page itself is only in Finnish.
Everything should be rather self explanatory in the TE-palvelut system, but in case you are left with questions you can contact me at juho@camerarescue.org or Noora at the TE office: noora.luomaranta@te-toimisto.fi