Bertta Hannuksela, who graduated in June as a Bachelor of Engineering, majoring in bioproducts, worked at Tako board mill as a shift foreman from February to September.
"I was already familiar with the mill as I had spent two previous summers working in production here. This year, as shift foreman, I was responsible for occupational safety, as well as the quantity and quality of paperboard and energy production. I also took care of the shift's personnel efficiency and competence development”, says Hannuksela.
The main task of the job was to ensure safety at work by implementing proactive safety measures, monitoring compliance with work instructions and taking care of any irregularities:
"I would say that a shift supervisor is involved in almost everything at the workplace - usually you are the first person called in any situation”, Hannuksela adds.
For Hannuksela, this was her first supervisor position. Her background in production gave a good basis for the new job, as she was already familiar with the working environment:
"The position offered pleasant challenges and the experience was very valuable for my future. And as a nice bonus, I had great colleagues who were a pleasure to work with."
Hannuksela recognises the challenge that women often have a higher threshold to apply for jobs in the forest industry because the field is traditionally perceived as male-dominant:
"I am personally interested in the promising future prospects and the many opportunities the field offers. I am pleased to say that my own prejudices have been dispelled by my work experience. I want to encourage women to confidently apply for positions in the forest industry”, Bertta says.
Jaakko Ikonen, VP of the Tako mill: "In the forest industry, professions are not gender specific. Our goal is to encourage more women to apply for jobs at the mill, and that's why it's great to share these good examples."