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17 April 2023
Lukasz Wajs, DPO, has been in the industry for a while now and has traveled around the world to complete various tours, including Ghana, West Africa, Mexico, Nigeria, Brazil and of course, North Sea. Last year, for the first time ever, he joined Atlas Professionals and has recently completed his first tour with us, and to commemorate this moment, we invited him for an interview to explore his experience, insight and thoughts on the future.
As an experienced Professionals, Lukasz knows his way around the industry – and has strong cultural and personal ties to it: “What led me to offshore life was my background and where I am from. I am originally from Gdynia, Poland where there are marine schools and my family is full of sea man, all the way from my my grandfather to my father, uncle, and even my brother and cousins, so even though I briefly started onshore, I was led to the offshore life rather fast as I always knew opportunities within the industry. So you could say it’s a family tradition,” he adds with a smile.
Lukasz recently completed his first tour with Atlas Professionals, a one-year contract that was very aligned with his set of skills and expectations – and it appears that he was content with how everything went: “Due to one crisis after another, cancellation of several projects and lack of available jobs during winter seasons, I started to feel discontent with my previous recruitment company – then I found out about Atlas Professionals. I completed the registration form online, provided my data, and since I had a lot of experience and certificates for different qualifications, Atlas Professionals quickly approached me and offered me a one-year contract with a Client. I just finished it successfully.”
We then get a chance to ask what makes Atlas Professionals special compared to his previous experiences: “Very, very surprising level of communication – the quality and professionalism of Atlas Professionals employees, how fast they respond to my questions. When I ask a question, I Immediately get a reply, and if that person is unavailable, they immediately refer to the next person, and if not to the other. The follow-ups have always been incredibly fast too. Travel arrangements have been top notch as well, so I can say that basically quality of logistics, and communications, make Atlas Professionals unique.”
Exceptional Schools, Maritime Culture and Skilled Professionals: Meet Poland
Lukasz is one of many Polish Professionals who excel at what they do, and the city he was born in, Gdynia, is also the city where Atlas Professionals held its very first dedicated recruitment event for Polish Professionals – constituting one of the more successful events of such kind in years. Atlas Professionals fully understands the demand for Polish Professionals from global markets and aims to organize additional events and other participations to ensure the robust talent situated within the country can be better connected with. You can read more about our Gdynia Recruitment Event here
When asked about his insight on why Poland manages to be such a hotspot for skilled Professionals, he mentions historic importance of the country and how the government also supports these efforts: “When discussing Poland and Energy industry, there are two things you need to consider. First are Polish sea man and the marine culture – we have exceptional schools and education, but not enough jobs in the country, so we can say the seaman are kind of “Products of Poland”,” Lukasz adds as he laughs. “Basically, a lot of very qualified people with really good education and experience are forced to look for jobs in other countries, and due to that, they spread all around the world.”
“Second thing to consider is,” he adds “Poland has very affordable maritime schools and programs for everyone to get exceptional education. Everyone can try their luck with these programs, and the best ones will excel, no matter what background they are coming from. They are supported by the government and are very trustworthy institutions with long traditions and international accreditations. When combined with Polish marine culture, they educate highly skilled Professionals.”
Just when we are about to ask what plans he has for the future, Lukasz’s son calls for him from behind the camera, prompting him to smile: “My family comes first – I plan to spend more time with my family in the future and a stable rotation with Atlas Professionals in current long term contract, allows me to do so. Oh, and I would also like positions that pay even more and to become a captain one day – but for now, continuing my career and spending time with mu family is my number one priority.”
