Our ICT department ensures that our company’s systems work properly, information flows automatically and is used in decision-making. Last spring, we were looking for future talent for our company’s ICT department. We offered our employees an internal opportunity to develop their skills and learn new things in temporary positions in information technology. We wanted to provide our personnel a new career path ‘From car builder to ICT specialist’.

Out of several dozen talented applicants, 5 motivated individuals were selected for the ICT teams, all of whom found a new permanent job in the ICT sector through this career path. Annika Siira works as a Junior Integration Specialist in our ICT operations team.

 

From quality measurer to integration specialist

Annika, who graduated from Novida Vocational and Adult Education and Training Centre in Uusikaupunki in 2015 with a basic qualification in process operation, started at Valmet Automotive at the end of 2016 and worked in the assembly shop first as an assembler for a year, after which her interest led her to the assembly quality department.

She worked as a quality measurer for almost five years, until her interest in the ICT sector prompted her to apply for the ‘From car builder to ICT Specialist’ career path.

  • I have always been interested in the IT sector and saw this as a great opportunity to get to know the industry and learn more about it. It’s a field I’ve always had in my thoughts and a potential career dream to pursue, Annika explains her decision to apply.

With the support of colleagues and the team, the learning process has progressed nicely and Annika says that the best thing about her current job is its versatility and the endless opportunities for self-development. It has also made it possible to participate in interesting projects.

  • In my job, I take care of software integrations, their design, implementation, and maintenance. Integration is the interconnection of software or systems using different technologies or platforms so that the connected parts can talk to each other. When I started, there was a lot to learn and there is still, given the breadth of the subject. In fact, there is as much to learn as you can and want to, Annika describes.

Getting to know new people across departmental boundaries has also opened up insights into how different functions operate and helped to increase company-level understanding of how things work. Although the on-the-job training has been comprehensive, Annika is keen to stress the importance of continuity and sufficient detail.

  • My future career goal especially now that interest in the sector is only growing is to continue developing myself and my skills. At the moment, I am studying an apprenticeship for an undergraduate degree in communications technology and I would like to continue my studies beyond that, for example, in the field of engineering. I am grateful for this opportunity and feel that my studies are a great support for my current work, Annika says.

Annika encourages everyone to take the courage to seize the opportunities that come their way, it’s always worth trying, even if the change seems frightening at first.

 

Through in-house training and career paths, we want to offer our personnel the opportunity for self-development and career growth. Together we create the future!