Practical training
I had my practical training at LähiTapiola in Jyväskylä from 5th of May until 31st of October 2019. LähiTapiola, or LocalTapiola in English, is a Finnish finance company providing insurance, investment and saving services. The group is divided into 20 different regional companies which are owned by its customers. LähiTapiola Keski-Suomi serves mainly customers of Central Finland and the headquarters is located in Jyväskylä.
I realised quite soon that this internship is more than just coffee making. As a trainee, I had a possibility to do plenty of different things, even more than those employees who work full-time in the company. The other trainee and I were the ones who were basically “the face of the office” as we worked at the info desk. To be honest, we were the ones who should have known everything about everything, and we heard so many different, odd and even challenging questions daily. Luckily our co-workers were very helpful even if we had many tasks only trainees handled such as all the mails.
After a few weeks, I started selling insurances and taking customers who had more time-consuming problems or issues. The other trainee stayed at the info desk and helped customers who had smaller things. After a couple of sluggish home and travel insurances, I noticed how I started to go along with the systems. It was also pretty rewarding to sell insurances as I heard that also trainees get commission from every new insurance we sell.
This practical training taught me so many aspects of insurance and finance field. It was surprising that the first video trainings we had were about money laundering and legalities of the industry. I saw and heard so many things people without finance industry experience would never even realise to think. This was also the first job where I was able to see and consider my own sales which was very instructive. From the beginning I felt I was actually working there, especially because everyone treated us in that way. My boss and co-workers were the ones who made this internship one of the best periods of the uni.
I guess I also did my best as I got a full-time position from LähiTapiola 🙂
Author: Juuso Inkeroinen