Competence management in maintenance: case – Finnish forest company

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to find out and understand the role of competence management in Finnish forest company maintenance. The key questions of this paper are: what is the required maintenance competence and how can this competence be achieved? Competence needs are here approached from the managerial perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe research was qualitative by nature. In total, 29 managers and supervisors were interviewed with focused interview; 22 interviewees worked in maintenance and seven in production.FindingsCompetence management in forest company maintenance is twofold. First, the existing personnel's competence level should be developed. Second, the competence of new recruits should be taken care of. The co‐operation between maintenance and production is important in promoting competence development. The supervisors are responsible of the overall competence level of their subordinates. The transference of the tacit knowledge from a senior to a junior worker is important. The commitment of new personnel should be secured by training and during mentoring processes. Also the apprenticeship contract is important in improving the high level competence of maintenance personnel. It is necessary to have the right quality and quantity of competence available in right place at right time. Therefore, it is not essential to have all kinds of competence in every work unit. These specialists can rotate from one unit to another.Research limitations/implicationsThis study included one Finnish forest company and competence was approached only from the managerial perspective. Therefore, the study is not comprehensive.Practical implicationsThe paper provides information concerning competence development in maintenance, i.e. which are the necessary competences inside the company and how know‐how can be achieved and developed.Originality/valueThe paper provides useful information concerning competence management in industrial maintenance.