Summer employee stories

See what our summer employees in 2023-2024 have to say

Nicodemus Virtanen, facility cleaner KYS

Nicodemus Virtanen, 23, works as a facility cleaner at the oncology ward of Kuopio University Hospital (KYS). He started work at the beginning of June and will continue until the end of August.

– I am studying biomedical science at the University of Eastern Finland, so this job isn’t exactly in my field. However, in biomedical science we co cancer research, so working in the oncology ward has been interesting and has helped me better understand cancer-related illnesses. I have also studied nutrition as a secondary subject and am very interested in nutrition in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Thanks to this summer job, I’ve gained a lot of new experience and knowledge about special diets, food hygiene, and nutritional care, Nicodemus reflects.

The main tasks include cleaning and food service, such as cleaning patient rooms and other areas, as well as assisting with food distribution.

– I’ve worked a few shifts in other wards, but mostly I’ve been working in the oncology ward. We work in three shifts every day of the week, says Nicodemus.

Nicodemus has enjoyed working as a facility cleaner. In his opinion, the best thing has been the team, interaction with patients and other staff, and the opportunity to challenge himself.

– The team is absolutely amazing. I’ve been surprised by how warmly I’ve been welcomed into this work community. Every day when I come to work, I feel genuinely happy to be working with these people. In this job, I’ve also been able to make use of my customer service mindset through interactions with patients and other staff. Additionally, I’ve had the chance to challenge myself. I’ve learned about different protective measures, such as droplet precautions. It has been incredibly rewarding, says Nicodemus.

According to Nicodemus, the orientation for the summer job was well organized, and he has always been able to ask for help when needed.

– You should definitely consider Servica as a place for your summer job. I’ve learned so much here, and the work community is fantastic, Nicodemus says gratefully.

Erkko Niemeläinen, warehouse worker

Erkko Niemeläinen, 23, works as a warehouse worker at the central warehouse on Saaristokatu. He first joined Servica for a summer job in 2019, so this is already his sixth summer. Usually, he has worked only during the summer, but in 2022 he was employed from spring until December.

– My tasks include collecting, packing, and sending orders from the central warehouse. The work is very independent. Occasionally, I’ve worked at the receiving area as well, but most of the time I focus on collecting the orders, Erkko says.

Erkko works the morning and evening shifts from Monday to Friday. He will continue in his summer job until the end of August.

-The best part is collecting large orders, like surgical instrument orders. Then I can focus on that one order for a while and handle it calmly. I’ve really enjoyed the summer job. The coworkers are great and the work atmosphere is great, Erkko comments.

Helmi Anttila, food service worker, Iso-Bertta

Helmi Anttila, 20, worked this summer for the second time as a food service worker at the Iso-Bertta central kitchen. This year, she worked for a little over a month, as she spent part of the summer writing her bachelor’s thesis. Last summer, she worked for a total of three months.

– I mainly work in centralized distribution, where meals are served directly onto patients’ plates. Most often, I serve main courses and special diet meals. Occasionally, I also take care of the dishes, Helmi says

She studies nutrition science at the University of Eastern Finland and first heard about summer jobs at Servica through the university.

– It’s been interesting to see what goes on in a large-scale kitchen on a practical level. You get to observe things that work well, as well as areas that could be improved. Learning about how hospital food services operate has been especially fascinating, Helmi comments.

Helmi says she has been able to balance work and free time well, and her shift requests have been fulfilled successfully.

– I reapplied to Servica for a summer job because the work was familiar. I didn’t have to learn everything from scratch, since I got to do pretty much the same tasks as last year and the orientation had been good before. I like that summer jobs are relatively simple, I like the fact that summer jobs are relatively simple, so they don’t put a strain on me or come home with me after leaving work. . They’re a good counterbalance to studying. The summer job has also increased my understanding of food services, and I believe the experience will be useful for my studies as well, Helmi reflects.

Helmi initially thought the work would be quite solitary, but found it to be otherwise.

– I thought I wouldn’t see many people in this job, but it turns out there’s a lot of collaboration with different coworkers. It’s a large work community, and I get to communicate with many different people, which is really nice, Helmi comments.

Valentina Grigoreva, facility cleaner, Iisalmi

Valentina Grigoreva works as a facility cleaner at Kampus Pulssi in Iisalmi. She started work at the beginning of May and will continue until the end of September.

– I’ve enjoyed my work very much, it’s really interesting and the people are lovely. I’d like to continue working in the autumn alongside my studies. I’m studying to become an animal caretaker at Ylä-Savo Vocational College, says Valentina.

Valentina mainly works on weekdays, but she has also worked on some weekends. The work is done in three shift from morning to evening. The Kampus Pulssi building houses the emergency department, laboratory, X-ray, procedure units, and various clinics.

Noora Reponen, renovation construction

Noora Reponen, 27, worked as a summer employee at the Ala-Pyörö School construction site from the beginning of June to the beginning of August. Her work tasks mainly included painting.

– I mainly did exterior and renovation painting, as well as other small tasks when needed. I painted windows, doors, walls, and sheet metal roofs, among other things. Toward the end of the summer job, I also got to do some plastering work, says Noora.

Noora is studying to become a painter, so the tasks were enjoyable and very useful for her studies. She will start her second year of studies in the autumn

– I applied for a summer job quite last minute due to changed plans. The job ad didn’t mention anything about painting, so it was a really positive surprise that I got to paint all summer. I had never done exterior painting before, so I learned a lot and got to practice in a versatile way, Noora comments.

Noora enjoyed her summer job a lot.

– This was the perfect summer job. I got to do work in my own field all summer and the team was really great. I also got to work outdoors, which was especially nice since the weather was fantastic. The orientation was also good and thorough, Noora says gratefully.

Jussi Kinnunen, transport worker, Kuopio University Hospital (KYS)

Jussi Kinnunen, 29, works as a transport worker in internal logistics at Kuopio University Hospital (KYS). His tasks include transporting and distributing internal mail within KYS, delivering warehouse order items to various departments in the Kaarisairaala building, and working pharmacy shifts, where medications are transported from the hospital pharmacy to different departments. The work is done on weekday morning shifts.

– Our area basically includes all buildings that can be accessed indoors, except for the external KYS buildings (3, 4, 5, 6, and 10). External transport is handled separately. Our workdays follow a certain rhythm, but it’s flexible when needed. It’s nice that the days are varied, Jussi comments

Jussi is working at Servica for the first time this summer, and it’s also his first time at KYS altogether. He has worked for several years at Oulu University Hospital and says it has been interesting to see how hospitals differ from one another. He moved to Kuopio a year ago for his studies.

– I moved from Oulu to Kuopio to study to become a radiographer. The summer job doesn’t directly benefit my radiography studies, but the workplace provides a good understanding of what the hospital world includes beyond nursing. In addition to nursing, hospitals require a multidisciplinary support service network to function, which includes hospital logistics. That’s why I especially recommend this job to people interested in nursing in the hospital environment, as well as logistics, Jussi comments.

Jussi appreciates the benefits of working in a large organization and the physical activity the job provides. He also praises his coworkers and the thorough orientation.

– In a large company, things run smoothly; salaries are paid on time and the employer provides work shoes and clothes. That’s a big advantage. There’s a lot of walking and moving items during the workday, so it’s great physical activity. You also get to know the entire hospital area and how things work at KYS. The team here is really nice, and the thorough orientation deserves a special mention, Jussi says gratefully.

Krista Suoraniemi, food services, Iso-Bertta

Krista Suoraniemi, 27, was working at the Iso-Bertta central kitchen for the second time. This year, she was not supposed to work in the summer due her studies, but she was able to agree on a shorter work assignment with production manager Sami Konttinen and decided to work for a period of one and a half months.

Krista is studying nutrition science and will start her Master’s degree studies in autumn.

– During our studies, we were introduced to Iso-Bertta’s operations, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were not able to visit the site physically. It has been useful to get to see what is happening here and how things work. Especially if you want to work in the hospital sector in the future, this will give you a good idea of the hospital’s food operations, Krista says.

Krista has mainly worked in the cold kitchen preparing lunches, dinners and salads for transport.

– The work in the cold kitchen is mostly about packing different foods to be sent to different locations. It’s nice to have a certain routine at work, but there’s also variation. Sometimes, I’ve also worked on the production line preparing meals for KYS. I’ve done quite a lot of different things, says Krista.

Krista had her last working day last week, and her plans for the rest of the summer include finishing her Bachelor’s thesis. According to Krista, her managers and colleagues trusted in her and had she was able to work relatively independently.

– I enjoyed the work, and the people were lovely, she concludes.

Jasmin Laitinen, facility cleaning, KYS

Jasmin Laitinen, 19, works as a facility cleaner at the cardiology ward of KYS. She started her summer job at the beginning of June after graduating from high school and will continue to work until the end of January next year.

– I’m interested in medicine, so I was really excited when I heard that I was going to work at the cardiology ward of KYS. You also get to see the medical side of the ward and learn a lot about how things work in the hospital and what the practices are, says Jasmin.

Jasmin’s tasks include cleaning patient rooms and other areas, preparing and assisting with food distribution and cleaning patient rooms after the patients leave the hospital. The morning shift worker cleans the ward domestic rooms, toilets and patient rooms, while the evening shift worker cleans the lobby, nurses’ office, medicine storage and other premises. Every shift involves being involved in food distribution. The working days are very varied.

– Although we do basically the same things every day, the job is really varied. This is a world of its own. The ward has different patients every day. All patients have generally been really nice, says Jasmin.

The work is shift work, but Jasmin says that the managers have been flexible with regard to their shift wishes and that she has been able to get some weekends off, for example, to visit summer festivals.

– The best thing is that you get to learn new things every day and every day is different, Jasmin concludes.

Janna Lybeck, sterile processing department, KYS

Janna Lybeck, 21, has worked as an instrument technician in the sterile processing department of KYS during the summer. She started work at the end of May and will continue until the end of August. Janna is studying to become an oral hygienist and has worked with dental instruments during the summer.

– I have performed different tasks related to dental instruments. On the washing side, the dental instruments are placed in the washing machine and on the hall side, the instruments are packed. The instruments are placed in different trays, such as surgical instruments and root care instruments are placed in separate trays. We have studied how to maintain instruments at school; however, in this work, I’ve been able to see how the instruments are handled in practice. The instruments have mainly been familiar to me, but most of the work itself has been new, says Janna.

Janna thinks that the best part of the summer job has been challenging herself and doing routine tasks.

– I like to be able to challenge myself at work. I also like the fact that as I only work with the dental side, there’s a certain routine in my work. The team has also been really nice, comments Janna.

Veeti Laitinen, building technology

Veeti Laitinen, 20, works on the construction site of Pitkälahti School during the summer. He started working at the beginning of June and will work at Servica throughout the summer.

Veeti is studying construction engineering and completed his first traineeship at Servica during his summer job. In the autumn, he will start his second year of studies.

– We’ve learned a lot of practical things here – things you can’t learn by reading books. I went on to study construction engineering after secondary school, which means that I have no previous construction background, so this first traineeship and summer job have been really helpful. We’ve been able to learn and do many things, says Veeti.

Veet’s work includes all construction tasks, such as replacing floors and roofs, painting walls and levelling floors. The work starts at 7 a.m. every working day. Initially, it had been agreed that the work would last until the end of July, but Veeti will continue to work until mid-August.

– It’s been nice to work and I don’t mind going to work in the morning. We have a really good working atmosphere and a great team. It’s a nice job indoors and it’s not that heavy, says Veeti.

Tomi Väisänen, customer service

Tomi Väisänen, 21, has worked in customer service as a customer service coordinator for the summer. He feels that the work experience has been useful for his studies. Tomi is studying computer science at the University of Eastern Finland and will start his second year of studies this month.

– In this work, I’ve been able to see what kinds of systems are in use in the service company and how customer feedback and work requests are documented. In addition, I’ve been able to learn some things about warehouse management and e-commerce as well, says Tomi.

In his work, Tomi handles contact requests with the central warehouse and other matters. Contact requests are made by phone, e-mail and via the feedback template on the website. Tomi works on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

– I really like working here. It’s been nice to get to know Servica and all its services. Working in customer service, I’ve been able to get a good overview of everything that is included in the services. I’ve also been very well received by the team. The induction was good, and there is always help available when needed, Tomi explains.

Meri Laitinen, food services, Iso-Bertta

Meri Laitinen, 15, worked for two weeks in the dish-washing department of Iso-Bertta’s central kitchen in June.

– I worked in all stages of dish-washing, except for the last one. Dish-washing has a total of six work stages, and one person at a time works at each point. You change point three times a day, so the work didn’t get dull. In the morning, I was working at one point, after lunch I switched to another one, and after the coffee break to a different one, Meri explains.

Dishwashing includes, for example, unloading food trolleys, removing leftover food from plates, placing dishes in the dishwasher and emptying the dishwasher. She worked in the same shift every day and the weekends were free.

Meri says that the best thing about summer work was the relaxed and good atmosphere.

– There was a really good atmosphere at work, and right from the start I was told that it was okay if I didn’t know something and that I could always ask questions. I didn’t feel any pressure, and everyone was really understanding, says Meri.

Meri recently signed a zero-hour agreement with Iso-Bertta for the rest of the year. In the autumn, Meri will start high school and plans to work shifts alongside her studies.