Ilpo Karjalainen has had a long career spanning numerous workplaces, all of which have one thing in common: railways. His strongest areas of expertise within the railway sector are electricity, railway electrification, safety, training and construction management. Until the end of 2023, Ilpo worked as an electrical infrastructure manager authorised by the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency in the Oulu control centre area. His responsibilities covered all railway electrification and high-voltage equipment managed by the agency north of the Pieksämäki–Seinäjoki line.
What are you particularly skilled at?
General railway electrification technology, electrical safety and occupational safety, as well as related training and coaching. I’m a bit like a preacher by nature; I enjoy preaching and sharing knowledge. I know a little about a lot of things, and I know who to ask when I need more information.
At the moment, for example, there are six smaller construction projects in my management area. Of course, in terms of bureaucracy, they involve just as much work as larger projects. I carry out my supervision visits alone, and since there’s usually nobody at the sites either, the visits have continued during the coronavirus pandemic just as they did before.
How have you developed your expertise?
When I was young, I studied to become an electrician at vocational school. With those qualifications, I got involved in the construction of electrified railways in Northern Finland in the early 1980s. Since then, I’ve had a front-row seat to the development of the industry.
In the late 1990s, I completed a specialist vocational qualification as a senior electrician in electrical engineering, which gave me strong professional qualifications alongside the work experience I’d already gained. Later, I also studied to become an engineer in telecommunications technology, adding some more muscle to my qualifications on paper.
I also have a teaching qualification from Haaga-Helia. In addition to working with railway electrification, I’ve worked as a trainer at the VR Training Centre (VRKK), where I taught electrical engineering to locomotive drivers, among others.
Together with Juke Niemelä, we established a training unit at Proxion. I served as its Headmaster, while Juke managed the unit. We were the first organisation outside VR’s Training Centre to provide training for persons responsible for railway work under a programme approved by the Finnish Transport Safety Agency.
That’s the kind of career you end up with when you’re endlessly curious and eager to learn.
What have been your biggest successes?
For me, the feeling of success comes through moments of realisation. When I’m in the right place at the right time and notice a shortcoming in electrical safety, that’s always a success for me. I feel that my work is meaningful when I realise that I’m making an important contribution in an everyday working situation. Of course, I also receive feedback from the client and maintenance contractor through reporting.
What does expertise mean to you, and how does it benefit the client in practice?
I’ve always done a lot of hands-on work: installing, building and getting things done. I see our role as experts in the consultancy world as providing clients with new alternatives, solutions and operating models, replacing old ways with better ones. That’s the kind of work I identify with, and it’s where I feel most at home.
Why do you enjoy working at Welado?
A good workplace consists of a good working environment, great colleagues and coworkers, and good partners. The cherry on top is meaningful work.
During my varied career, I’ve learned that I’m not particularly fond of authority. Welado suits someone like me because we don’t have a hierarchy that puts people on different levels or professional managers who look down on others. Instead, we’re able to agree on things together.
What does being a pioneer mean to you?
I started working at Finnish State Railways on 2 June 1980 as an electrician. At Eltel, I worked as a Regional Manager with more than 40 employees under my supervision.
Even when I was the chief shop steward representing 500 electricians at VR, I tried to introduce the idea of cooperation, where employees and employers would sit on the same side of the negotiating table.
In my role as Welado’s trusted employee representative, or Luottoukko, I support both management and employees as we develop our organisation into the best possible workplace for Welado’s experts.
In which areas would you like to develop during your career at Welado?
My approach to life is solution-oriented. I always want to face problems as they come.
I’d like to find a way to combine my role as an employee representative with training in personal growth. I could offer a problem-solving service for people who feel mentally stuck, whether the issues are related to work or personal life. Ilpo’s armchair is always ready to listen. We can put our heads together and find a solution.
Good questions can take you a long way. Learning the art of listening as you get older is already a great achievement. When someone genuinely listens to what another person is saying and feeling, it helps that person gain insights and find ways to overcome mental blocks. Often, simply talking things through helps clarify your own thoughts.
What would you like to see improved in our industry?
I enjoy teaching, and I believe you can’t teach unless you’re willing to learn yourself. You have to go through life with your eyes and ears open, constantly absorbing new things. My curious nature has always helped me get to grips with new systems.
Through experience, I’ve learned to place myself in the context of where I am at any given moment: where I’ve come from, where I am now and where I’m heading.
That way, I know and understand myself. I recognise what I’ve done well, where I’ve failed and how I could do things even better. There’s no point banging your head against a wall. Instead, you should learn from your own mistakes and those of others.
That’s how we develop and move towards something better, whether we’re talking about an industry or an individual.
Could your railway project benefit from an experienced expert? Get in touch!
ilpo.karjalainen@welado.fi, +358 40 154 4333