Mitja Rainio has been working at Kulttuurivoimala ry in Oulu Alppila since summer 2019. The path, which started as a rehabilitation work activity, led to studification in August 2022.

"I ended up at the association thanks to a tip from employment services and my hobby of video editing. My interest was boosted by a couple of friends who were also involved in video editing," Rainio explains.

Rainio enjoys working at the Community Arts Centre, where his work includes video and photo editing, digital publishing, and streaming. Initially working once, a week, Rainio now works four times a week.

After primary school, Rainio started training as a welder, but dropped out after a couple of years and joined the army.

"After the army, I spent more than a year doing nothing. Then I went to train as a waitress, but I didn't finish that either. The social aspect of the industry didn't come naturally to me. It made me anxious."

During her years working in the 20-person team at Kulttuurivoimala ry, Rainio's plans have become clearer.

"I've been thinking about applying to Luovi to study media. There is the possibility of training, and I can get credit for my studies thanks to the work I have done at Kulttuurivoimala ry," Rainio explains.

One of the highlights of my studification path was when I got my own contact at the Byströmin ohjaamo. Together with them we considered my options. I had been at home with my child for a long time and needed something else to do in my everyday life besides motherhood. I had several interruptions in my studies, as I couldn't seem to find my own field of study.

I wanted to go into the social and health sector through rehabilitation work to see if I had enough resources to work in addition to my family. I also wanted to evaluate my enthusiasm for studying in the field.

At the workplace, I was initially met with skepticism because I lacked professional training. However, everything went well. I was full of enthusiasm and drive. Gradually, people started to trust me, and I fell in love with the sector. Six months in the rehabilitation program went by in a flash.

Together with an employee from Byström, we started to explore the possibility of me starting a course in the field. I got an interview with the school, but I did not do well enough in the selection test and was not selected. I was then referred from Byström to OSAO, where we considered the different options for a career in the field. The second round of applications was successful, and I was offered a place to study in the field of social and health care.

I received a certificate of competence in rehabilitation work, as my service was also linked to studification. The certificate showed the work I had done in the social and health sector. These were credited towards my studies, so my study time was reduced by almost half of what it was originally. In April 2021, I received my diploma with good grades and have now applied for further education at a university of applied sciences. My goal is to graduate as a nurse.

Johanna from Pöllönkangas’ after-school program is a happy advocate of curricular learning. She started her studification path a year ago in autumn.

"I was offered a work experience placement in an after-school club for first and second graders when I was in Verve's rehabilitation sector. The part-time job, the familiar supervisor and the environment attracted me to apply here."

During the work trial period, Kela paid rehabilitation allowance, after which Johanna continued to work with a wage subsidy.
Since then, the part-time job has been changed to a full-time job and will continue until the summer, maybe even after that.

"The studification gave me the opportunity to try this field. It has also clarified my understanding of this job. It has been easy for me to see what the job entails. It was all new at first, even though I have a background in home care and am a mother of three children."

Johanna considers her strengths to be sociability and presence. She feels at home in her field.

"One option is to do a studification to study the field. The employment expectations are good and with studification, the work done here can possibly be recognized in my studies."

• Identify suitable work tasks to describe the learning environment
• Job orientation and guidance of the jobseeker
• Identify the skills of the jobseeker when providing the certificate of competences
• Provide feedback
• Co-development of a studification approach

• Map and describe the learning environment in cooperation with the BusinessOulu training coordinator and the employer
• Recognition of competences through examinations
• Plan the training according to the jobseeker's objectives
• Co-development of the studification approach