Immigrants at work in K-Citymarkets

‒ This is a really great experience for me, as I like customer service very much. I’m learning a lot here, especially about Finnish culture. This is a whole new world to me, explains Claudia Vargas-Eskola, who works in the utility goods section.

Trung Dang is usually at the food products section unloading products, arranging the shelves or guiding customers.

‒ I used to work in English. Now, for the first time, I can work in Finnish. I can learn a lot and communicate with my colleagues in Finnish. If customers come and ask me about the products, I try to listen to them and show them the products. It’s a lot of fun for me. My colleagues are also very friendly and helpful.

Juha Jylli, retailer of K-Citymarket Länsikeskus, notes that his own experiences with on‑the‑job learners with an immigrant background have been very positive.

‒ We have good and cheerful trainees who make great use of their own personalities. They work well in customer service and are not afraid to make contact. They are hard-working and energetic, and they do their jobs as expected.

K-Citymarket recognizes its responsibilities

Claudia and Trung are working at K-Citymarket Länsikeskus to complete the Working at a store unit, which is a part of their vocational qualification in Business studies at the Turku Vocational Institute (TAI). 16 students with an immigrant background signed up for the short-term training, which lasts from the beginning of September to the end of November.

Students complete the on-the-job learning period in K‑Citymarkets in the Turku region; the K‑Citymarkets in Länsikeskus, Kupittaa and Skanssi have four students each, while K‑Citymarket Ravattula has two.

‒ Citymarket is a responsible player in society, and we appreciate that they work with TAI in exploring new ways of training employees who might otherwise have difficulties in getting to work or studies when their language skills are still inadequate. We are working for an important cause, says Satu Makkonen, team leader and Senior Lecturer in Business Management at TAI.

Kimmo Roine coordinates educational cooperation with the Turku Vocational Institute. As Area Director of K‑Citymarket in the Turku Region, he is responsible for ten K-Citymarkets.

‒ K-Citymarket wants to offer jobs to people with an immigrant background, as we recognise the trade sector’s constantly increasing need for labour. A similar arrangement was previously tested at K-Citymarkets in Pirkanmaa and the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The arrangement had good results, and so we wanted to extend it to Turku, Roine explains.

All kinds of tasks are available

In September, the students went through practical matters at school and studied Finnish. On‑the‑job learning began for three days per week in October, and by November the students were already working five days per week. During the learning period, students need to familiarise themselves with the store’s range of products, receive deliveries, unload cargo, put products on display and serve customers in the store.

Claudia is from Venezuela and speaks Spanish. A lady on a rollator approaches her in the clothing section and asks where to find women’s underwear.

‒ It’s important to be friendly to customers and help them. I think hard about how to best present myself. I like the clothing section most of all. It’s a nice and safe environment.

The store is open 24/7, but for the time being, the trainees work in morning shifts that last for six and a half hours. Reko Eriksson, Head of the industrial products department, is Trung’s supervisor at K-Citymarket Länsikeskus.

‒ We start every morning by determining where Trung is most needed. Trung has already worked in the milk and cheese sections, put products in shelves and updated price tags, among other things. Next week, we will look at orders, safety practices, other matters related to how a big store operates. The trainees are really brave; they start by trying their best and then ask us for help if they have a challenging situation. In my opinion, things have worked very well, Eriksson notes.

Language is learned while working

‒ The main thing is to gain experience and learn a lot. I can develop my Finnish language skills and get used to a Finnish-language environment. Because Finnish is not my mother tongue, a colleague can sometimes misunderstand me, which can be funny. Then I try again and explain the situation, Vietnamese-speaking Trung explains.

Eriksson points out that non-native speakers might have problems understanding customers who speak a dialect.

‒ My Pori dialect isn’t particularly easy to understand, either. The trainees don’t have to have perfect language skills from the beginning. Their language skills develop very quickly, since they speak so much Finnish with colleagues and customers every day.

‒ One of our trainees said that “kengänpohjallinen” (insole) was the funniest word they had learned, Kimmo Roine recounts.

‒ Every trainee started by taking a language test. This ensured that they had sufficient Finnish language skills and that everyone could understand the work orientation which we provided in Finnish. And things have worked well, Roine continues.

Praiseworthy cooperation

For retailer Juha Jylli, working with different kinds of trainees is a normal part of work. There are always students working at K‑Citymarket Länsikeskus. In addition to trainees from K‑Academy, there are also trainees and apprentices from educational institutions.

‒ Having trainees works for us, since the concept and methods have been thoroughly tried and tested. However, we want to ensure that trainees have sufficient guidance and that they also have work to do. That’s why we don’t always have room for everyone.

Jylli notes that the educational cooperation with TAI is well organised and of high quality, and recalls that starting it was also easy.

‒ It was perfectly clear how the learning would be implemented, what would be required from the store, how many trainees would be coming, and what our responsibilities would be. We also got to meet and interview students before decisions were made.

A bridge to working life

K-Citymarket’s work training is an important part of students’ studies. K-Citymarket and TAI both recognise that people with an immigrant background need opportunities to experience work in the trade sector even when they still need to improve their Finnish language skills.

‒ We are very pleased that K-Citymarket has offered on-the-job learning to so many people with an immigrant background. The three-month training is deliberately kept short, so that we can offer faster paths to working life, Satu Makkonen emphasises.

Claudia Vargas-Eskola also commends the short and intensive learning period.

‒ Short-term training is great, as it provides an opportunity to get to work. It’s a bridge to Finnish working life.

Makkonen notes that feedback from the workplaces has mainly been positive. In particular, the students’ good attitude and willingness to learn have been praised. Their courage in serving customers and speaking Finnish has been noticed in the stores. Of course, there are always students who face challenges at the workplace during on-the-job learning.

‒ Rules of working life or certain tasks may come as a surprise, even though they are discussed in school. This short training allows both the student and representatives of the workplace to examine whether tasks in the trade sector are suitable for the student, Makkonen sums up.