ArcelorMittal sparks interest among over 350 engineering students UGent
First bachelor engineering students at Ghent University paid a company visit to steel giant ArcelorMittal in the port of Ghent on 18 April 2024. They got a look behind the scenes there.
The company visit focused on sustainability, entrepreneurship and ethics. The students were also given a guided tour of the plant. The visit gave them the opportunity to discover which jobs in the business world they could take up later. After all, ArcelorMittal Belgium takes engineers with all possible specialisations on board.
The company visit also supported the students in their choices of specialisation during their further study career. “Theory forms the basis, but practical expertise is indispensable,” says Prof Kim Verbeken of UGent. “Our engineering students receive a solid theoretical basis in the first bachelor’s degree, but we think it is important that they are also introduced to industry right away. ArcelorMittal Belgium is an excellent example for this as an international company, where many engineers work daily in innovative ways to create a more sustainable society.”
Record number of new employees
In 2023, ArcelorMittal Belgium recruited a record number (407) of new employees, including 56 engineers. The company is additionally looking for 150 new employees including production workers, technicians, engineers, IT professionals and employees for support departments. “Everyone on our team has an important role to play, both experienced and young people, thinkers and doers, innovators and enforcers. Here, it is very important that everyone can be themselves and differences are recognised and embraced. We want to make sure everyone feels welcome and good in our organisation,” said Frouke Lambert, chief human resources at ArcelorMittal Belgium.
Gas, scrap and electric furnaces
ArcelorMittal Belgium wants to be climate neutral by 2050. This is a big challenge, as its current production is based on coal, which releases CO2. With the ‘Green Primary’ project, ArcelorMittal is working on the realisation of the first integrated flat steel production site that will start using green steel in its production process. This will include replacing one of the two blast furnaces with another process based on gas, scrap and electric furnaces. That already drastically reduces CO2 emissions. The end goal is to produce high-quality steel in a carbon-neutral production process, with hydrogen-based DRI technology. It is the largest investment project ever at the Ghent site since it was founded.
