It is important for your future employment that you perform the voluntary on-the-job training included in your studies. It would also be desirable that you direct your gaze outside your home country and use your opportunity to complete international practical training during your studies. Complete the practical training and insert it into your personal study plan as early as possible!
Contact the person in charge of practical training or your study coordinator
At the department and school level, the persons in charge of practical training coordinate the training. They approve the training locations and check that the contents of the training fulfill the criteria set for the practical training that forms part of the degree. They also act as contact persons for the workplaces and help the student in making the traineeship contract.
At the faculty level, the Heads of Training coordinate training-related matters.
In all questions related to practical training, you can turn to the contact person of practical training for your academic subject. If you have questions concerning practical training abroad, you can turn to International Student Services.
- Determine in which stage you can fit the planned training period and whether the training is suitable for your academic subject.
- If you have already found a training place, do still contact the above-mentioned counsellors and, with them, start planning your leaving for the traineeship.
- Take into consideration your subject’s training-related regulations, such as the required number of ECTS credits or academic success and the type and level of the tasks required during the training.
- Also note that you can receive financial support for traineeship only once during your degree!
- Make sure that a traineeship contract is made between the university and the employer; the university and your employer have committed to arranging the training. The contract defines your duties, the duration of the training, the financial support paid by the university and the wages paid by the employer.
- Once the traineeship contract has been made, also ensure that you make an employment contract with your employer. The employment contract is a fixed-term contract, and the duration of the training forms the grounds for its fixed-term nature.
- You can find more information on, for example, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration website, where you can find out your rights and obligations in places of employment
- Find out who at the workplace is your training supervisor and, correspondingly, who is your supervisor at the university.
- Put effort into writing the training report – study your department’s instructions and take at least some notes every day. This will make your life surprisingly easier at the end stages of the training period!
- Instructions for preparing a training portfolio (pdf, in Finnish)
- A healthy dose of humility at the workplace is in order – if you jealously guard your efforts or limit the amount of your duties based on the scope of the training, a possible future employer will not get a good impression of you. So, be flexible.
- Show initiative and do not stay/hide in your own corner at the workplace – this allows you to network, or build relationships that may be surprisingly valuable as your graduation looms ahead of you and you start seriously looking for work.
- Always ASK if you do not know. Asking is a show of wisdom, taking foolhardy action due to a lack of knowledge is not!
- You are representing not only your own discipline, but also the University of Eastern Finland, so prepare to tell something about at least your department at the workplace.
- Learn for your own sake! Traineeship and a job where you can work on your thesis are milestones on your career path!
Consider the following when
Choosing the traineeship location
- What values and interests are important yo you?
- What are key aspects of your personality?
- What motivates you?
- What kind of work duties would you like to have in the future – what kind of competence do you need?
- What kind of position are you after?
- What kind of an employer would be ideal for you?
Useful information you will get
- You will find out clues to what kind of know-how and skills you should have or what you need to work on more.
- Your experience of how workplace communities work – workplace communities are individual, and there are numerous different workplace cultures.
- You will quickly discover what kind of a workplace community makes you thrive and what you want from your future workplace community to be able to be a productive employee full of ideas.
- You will receive feedback and your self-knowledge will increase. You will learn what kind of an employee and colleague you are.
The key question: What goals should you set for your career path and how could you achieve them?