6.5.2024
Career days reinforce the link between education and work
Health Campus Turku organises career days that all members of the network can take part in. The goal of the events is to gather experts, professionals, teachers and students from different fields together.
Career days, “TET-päivä”, are a unique forum for discussing topical issues, developing new practices and building new networks.
Career days are about bridge-building and networking
During this spring’s event, Head of Education and Research for Social Services and Education Katariina Felixson from Turku University of Applied Sciences tutors two employees from the wellbeing services county of Southwest Finland, Varha. Educational planners Satu Lieskivi and Reetta Lindfors work in Varha’s coordination team for teaching and education.
Lieskivi and Lindfors’ responsibilities include the development of the competence and pedagogical skills of student instructors as well as the coordination of the internships and related application processes of university, UAS and vocational school students.
For Lieskivi and Lindfors, career days are about more than just introduction to the world of work: they provide an opportunity to build bridges for the future and promote the health care and social services sector as a career choice.
– It’s great to have the opportunity to see the educational environment while simultaneously building new networks. Co-operation with local higher education institutions is very important, Lieskivi says.
For Lindfors, the event is first and foremost an opportunity to get to know other local actors and learn about the social services education offered by Turku University of Applied Sciences.
– I want to have a comprehensive overall picture of the studies included in a Bachelor of Social Services degree and the continuing education offering and ongoing development projects of the university of applied sciences. I am particularly interested in the relationship between a degree in social services and the modern world of work and internships, she says.
“It’s important to get to know one another”
According to Katariina Felixson, meeting new people is an integral part of the event, but introducing both instructors and interns to how organisations function is equally important.
– In the course of the day, we all have a chance to get to know one another and learn from each other. Mutual understanding will help create new collaboration opportunities, she says.
During the event, Lieskivi and Lindfors will have the opportunity to learn about the operation and RDI activities of the university of applied sciences as well as social services education. The aim is to identify points of contact between the university of applied sciences and Varha and discuss how collaboration and, for example, research and project activities could be developed.
– This is a great, low-threshold concept. I’m confident that understanding each other’s goals and visions for the future will make our collaboration projects run even smoother. Regional development is a statutory duty for the university of applied sciences, and Varha is an important partner for our field in more ways than one, Felixson says.
Towards a smoother transition from school to work
According to Lieskivi and Lindfors, the need for internship positions in social services has increased with the transition to Varha. For students, this means more opportunities for practicing and preparing for the world of work.
– Students will often have the chance to remain employed after finishing the final internships of their degrees. We have a particularly high need for social workers, but work corresponding to the education of Masters of Social Services would also be available once the competencies acquired as part of the degree have been identified, Lieskivi says.
Lieskivi is interested to learn more about the current degree programmes in social services and the related internships. She’s also excited about meeting teachers and students – career days can also result in a broader understanding of studying and its goals.
– The key question for us is: what can we do for the students of the university of applied sciences? After learning more about the needs and goals of the students, Varha will have even more internship positions available.
Common goals at the heart of the collaboration model
Career days are mutually beneficial. Lindfors has been pleased to notice that teachers are also interested in learning about Varha’s practices. It is important for teachers to stay up to date on the impact of the welfare reform on work in the social services sector.
– I hope that in the future, we will join forces in further improving our co-operation and ensuring that the degree programmes answer to the needs of the world of work. We must maintain an open dialogue in order to keep moving in the right direction, Lindfors says.
Collaboration and open dialogue are key to ensuring that there will be enough competent professionals and that education will continue to be based on the most recent knowledge. Lindfors points out that this is something that neither Varha or the higher education institutions can tackle alone – work in the wellbeing services of the region requires dialogue.
– Career days offer us the opportunity to deepen our understanding of the interaction between education and work. We get to share our strengths and experiences from the field while learning about new things and building networks. Together, we can then build a better future.
Reinforcing collaboration and sharing experiences
Career days (TET-päivä) are an experiment focused on providing opportunities for networking. The aim is to lower the threshold for co-operation.
– In addition to networking, the goal of the event is to co-operate more closely with the actors from the world of work, recognise and promote the expertise of the various actors involved in the network, and explore and develop the learning environments, says Camilla Strandell-Laine, member of the Health Campus Turku’s Steering Group and Chair of the Working Group on Education.
Member organisations of the Health Campus Turku network are the wellbeing services county of Southwest Finland, University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, Turku University of Applied Sciences, Novia University of Applied Sciences and Business Turku.
Strandell-Laine wishes for the career day event to lead to shared ideas, extended collaboration, and competence sharing between the organisations.
– Last year, we discussed how the employees of Health Campus Turku member organisations could benefit tangibly from the activities of the Campus. Career days have previously been arranged by hospital districts, with positive feedback. We had the idea of taking the concept further in the direction where the Health Campus organisations take turns in hosting the event.
Career days aim to create an open and inspiring atmosphere that allows everyone to contribute to discussion through expressing their views and ideas on e.g. educational co-operation or internships.
– During the event, professionals and students alike will have the opportunity to share their knowledge and learn from one another. This is an important step towards an even closer co-operation and a more innovative wellbeing services county where the contribution of each actor is valued, Strandell-Laine concludes.
Employees of Health Campus Turku member organisations have the opportunity to flexibly participate in the career days in accordance with their own schedule and interest. Each organisation has a designated contact person whom employees can contact in matters related to career day arrangements. Read more about career days in Finnish here.
Read more about Health Campus Turku: healthcampusturku.fi