Nokia takes good care of its local staff

Gergely  Mihálka, Head of Global Technology Center Budapest, Nokia Solutions  and Networks Kft

Can you give an overview of the main types of work your office handles here in Hungary?

With over 1,900 employees, Nokia has an extensive team in Hungary serving local and regional customers and contributing to the development of global products and future mobile broadband solutions. In recent years, the company has strengthened its presence through a service center, which provides financial, procurement and human resources support to over 107 countries.

How much of your workforce consists of programmers, IT workers or engineers?

The R&D organization in Budapest is one of the Nokia Global Technology Centers. Our 1,400 engineers develop future-ready technologies. Our main technologies developed in Hungary are Voice Over LTE, MSS (Mobile Switching Server), Cloud Virtualization and Big Data Analytics.

What kind of specialists do you look for most frequently?

We have a complete R&D chain in Budapest: from requirements to software deliveries, including software development, software testing, quality assurance, product management, architecture, technical service & customer documentation. At the Technology Center we look for engineers, IT-experts, mathematicians and programmers with knowledge of C++, Java, Pearl, among others. A high level of English knowledge is also important.

What does your firm do to find and recruit the kinds of employees you need?

Nokia is one of the main supporters of the higher education of engineers in Hungary through its professional internship program. Our collaboration with universities has strengthened over time and transformed into a comprehensive partnership with three pillars. The first pillar is the aforementioned professional internship program which provides practical experience for university students. The second pillar provides opportunities for students to participate in academic research and development projects and the third pillar is a lecture series on telecommunication topics given by our experts and organized within the university’s timeframe.

What can your firm do to train your employees in specialized skills?

Sharing our knowledge and skills allows us to inspire innovation across our businesses so we can achieve great things together. Our engineers acquire the most up-to-date knowledge of the telecoms industry. There is also a significant accumulation of 5G research, virtualization, and Data Science knowledge here, and these directions are open to those interested.

We start to train our colleagues from the first day they enter our premises. Every year we collect the internal needs from both line managers and the competence development community. We organize internal and external trainings as well based on the listed needs.

Why should young professionals consider working for your firm?

Our company pays special attention to its workers; it is part of our company culture based on our values: respect, achievement, renewal and challenge. Flexible working hours are provided to all employees. General medical service is available every working day including local doctor services not only occupational health doctors. Additional free-of-charge services, preventive programs include our stop-smoking program, weight loss program, vaccinations, medical tests required for licenses and psychology consultations. All employees have access to the Recreation Center or can become a member of the 38 Nokia Sport and Hobby Clubs. The company has group insurance contracts which provide insurance coverage to employees, their family members and temporarily employed students. All employees are provided an ergonomic working environment including a friendlier, more casual work environment and team spaces that promote more interaction with co-workers, team members and visiting guests.