The young men are summer interns at Oulun Energia: Teemu is in marketing and communication, while Jere is a surveyor at Oulun Energian Sähköverkko Oy.

Teemu Liikanen, who majors in English at the University of Oulu, does photography and videography as his hobbies and has had the opportunity to practice his interests as a summer intern for the second summer in a row.

“I write blog posts and newsletters, take photos, make videos, update the website, and do graphic design. There is also the planning and organization of events and translating texts from English to Finnish and vice versa,” Teemu says of his work.

The marketing and communication tasks are versatile—sometimes work takes place in a peat, sometimes at festivals and harness races. Teemu’s tasks have also included work in Oulun Energia’s projects with the Oulun Kärpät hockey team and the AC Oulu football club.

“This is definitely a pleasant and encouraging experience, that I can take advantage of my strengths and, on the other hand, challenge areas that need development,” he says.

Lessons learned at school in practice

The versatility and mobility of the work are also pleasing to Jere Kerttula. He travels around construction sites about half of his work time. The other half is spent in the office.

“On construction sites, I measure and record cabling with GPS equipment, and at the office, I document the observations on a map. This is how we know where the cabling and the district heating pipes are located. It is important information for excavation contractors, for example,” Jere explains the surveyor’s job description.

The second-year electrical engineering student at OAMK applied to Oulun Energia because he wanted to start out at a big company, to “get a bit of a foot in the door”. The experience has surprised him in a positive way.

“I have had the opportunity to observe the lessons learned at school in practice and the work is independent. The coworkers are really nice too,” he says.

At first, Jere went on job sites with another surveyor, but as he became familiar with the job, he was able to work on his own. He will also be able to become familiar with and take part in network design at the end of the summer.

Reinforcing one’s own industry

The summer internships have made the future plans of both young men clearer.

“I’m definitely interested,” Jere answers the question of whether he would be interested in a job at Oulun Energia: “There is so much new stuff and every day you learn more”.

The work experience in marketing and communication at Oulun Energia has confirmed Teemu’s thought that marketing is his thing.

“It has whet my appetite, I’m definitely interested in the industry and the career path is interesting and motivating, it calls to me”.