Oliver Falkenberg’s internship at VikingGenetics led to a full-time job, and a home in the countryside for him and his young family.
I would like to live here," Oliver Falkenberg thought when he first arrived at the VikingGenetics bull station in Denmark. He was 16 at the time and part of the EGU programme, special for young people to further develop their skills. Now at 22, he says his dream has come true.
“My girlfriend is from the city of Randers, so this is new to her,” Oliver Falkenberg remarks. “But she likes it. There is lots of space.” Oliver lives now a few miles from the Dalsgaard farm, owned by VikingGenetics, with his girlfriend and baby son.
The right spirit
The young barn worker first arrived at VikingGenetics six years ago. A shy 16-year-old boy who spent two weeks at the bull station as part of his EGU programme at a local production school. “I used to stall at school. I didn’t get any diplomas or certificates,” he says.
However, at the barn, he spent hours polishing and caring for the tractors and agricultural machinery. The barn staff and the Human Resources (HR) department were impressed by his passion and offered him a two-year internship.
“We needed someone with an interest in engineering and machinery. Oliver had the right spirit and wanted to learn,” says Pia Maach-Møller, Chief HR Officer, VikingGenetics.