A Whole Summer at Suvic – Summer Trainees' Experiences on Site
In the summer of 2023, two summer trainees, Peppi Penttilä and Matti Martin, worked at Suvic's construction site in Ii, Finland. Their task involved constructing two parks: Isokangas and Palokangas, with Suvic responsible for the foundation work. This project encompassed 17 foundations, of which 16 were rock anchor foundations and one was a gravity foundation.
The summer trainees began their work in early May and returned to their studies at the end of August. The construction site provided both with an excellent opportunity to observe the construction of wind power foundations from start to finish.
A Hybrid Model Combining the Field and Office Work
Suvic frequently recruits students from diverse fields, encompassing construction and civil engineering, energy, environmental engineering, as well as electrical engineering. For instance, Peppi is a student of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Oulu and will be returning to her third-year studies in the fall, including working on her bachelor's thesis.
In her case, they opted for a hybrid work arrangement where Peppi spent part of her week in a supervisory role at the construction site and the remainder engaged in planning internships at Suvic's Oulu office. Her responsibilities on the construction site included documentation, quality assurance, and work related to safety. In the office, she assisted with cable layout plans, structural calculations, and various other tasks related to structural engineering, including 3D design.
Summer Work Offers the Opportunity for Supervisory Experience
Matti, a second-year mechanical engineering student at Oamk, aimed to work in a supervisory role when applying to Suvic, and his wish came true in Isopalo. He focused entirely on supervisory tasks, which included various responsibilities such as monitoring work safety (including MVR rounds), receiving deliveries, inspecting reinforcements, and other quality assurance tasks, including preparing for concrete pours.
For Matti, the summer offered plenty of opportunities to learn new things, both in terms of job tasks and vocabulary. He said, "I'm really happy that I got to use English at the construction site. Now I feel more confident, knowing that it's useful in the workplace, and the threshold for using the language is lower in my hobbies too!"
More Than Just a Paycheck - Valuable Learning from Internship
Both summer trainees shared that they found plenty of interesting and new things to learn right from the beginning of their internship. Matti added, "However, we've received support and advice from our colleagues in everything, so it has been easy to ask for help. Suvic has also made it easy to integrate into the team, and there are nice people working here."
As Peppi and Matti reflect on their summer, they point out various memorable moments from Ii. According to Matti, the best part of the summer has been the moments when he realized he could work independently. He said, "Towards the end of the summer, I started to understand what all the different work phases required, and I learned to anticipate them better."
Peppi, on the other hand, mentioned the preparations for concrete pours as a significant experience, during which the duo worked together: "During those times, it felt like we were genuinely making a difference by ensuring that everything went smoothly the next day. This has been a very instructive and versatile internship. I now realize how much I know about wind power construction, even though I had practically zero knowledge before the summer."
Summer Jobs Give You the Chance to Prove Your Skills and Attitude
Summer jobs and internships provide students and recent graduates with the opportunity to showcase their skills and work ethic. Success in the energy construction field requires a willingness to take on tasks, a commitment to continuous learning, and a growth mindset. Janne Räisänen, Suvic's production manager, mentioned, "Many of our permanent employees have previously worked here as interns or summer trainees, and some have also conducted their thesis projects with us." He continued, "We already have agreed with Peppi that she will continue working part-time at Suvic during the winter. However, we strongly encourage everyone to complete their studies and degrees. You can always come back to us later!"
Summer jobs also provide students with the opportunity to get acquainted with the company and its culture. In Suvic's case, summer jobs also offer the chance to explore the field of renewable energy construction, which is not always well-covered in classroom education. Räisänen added, "General construction site safety practices and site navigation are aspects that aren't learned in the classroom. Also, pouring concrete in a wind farm differs significantly from, for example, residential construction, mainly due to the sheer volume. Having existing experience from a construction site is invaluable in job hunting after graduation, although we, of course, provide thorough orientation to all newcomers."
PS: Do you want to be part of developing energy for the future? Are you considering an internship, summer job, or thesis work? Get in touch with us with an open application, and tell us about your studies, experience, plans, and goals. We review all applications and will inform you if we have a role that matches what you're looking for.
Our official summer job application campaign for 2024 will start a bit later, towards the end of 2023.
