Turun Teknologiakiinteistöt welcomed a new employee in mid-February, when Piia Saanio started as a design assistant. – I immediately felt that I just had to have this job…
– I immediately felt that I just had to have this job, recounts Teknologiakiinteistöt’s new design assistant Piia Saanio about her first encounter with her current position.
Saanio had seen Teknologiakiinteistöt’s recruitment ad on Facebook and was immediately excited about the job, as the job description seemed tailor-made for her.
– I thought this was work I would really enjoy and that it would match my previous work experience. When I got to know Teknologiakiinteistöt, the feeling only grew, as the website and social media gave a fresh and modern impression. I also noticed that there were many young people and women among the employees, which is not very typical in my field.
Saanio holds a Master of Engineering degree. Having a hobby in crafts and painting, Saanio moved from Helsinki to Turku at the age of 14 and became an engineer due to her artistic side and love for her hometown.
– After high school, I wanted to study something academic that would also include visual and creative work. I considered applying to study architecture or interior design. However, neither field could be studied in Turku, and I didn’t want to move away from here. Through my friend’s mother, I was introduced to the construction industry, so I decided to apply to study as a construction engineer. I thought the degree would be one that would provide me with a wide range of various job opportunities in the future, Saanio says.
Here, people are allowed to work in their own way, employees are trusted, and different needs are taken into account.
After graduating as an engineer, Saanio worked for four years as a survey site manager in real estate surveying at Mitta Oy. In 2020, she moved to Skanditalot as an assistant designer, where her duties included preparing permit, work, and structural drawings for small houses as well as 3D modeling of structures. During the pandemic, Saanio was inspired to continue her studies alongside work at Turku University of Applied Sciences, and last year she completed her Master of Engineering degree, so the new job with its diverse tasks came just at the right time in Saanio’s life.
– I am particularly interested in the digitalization of the construction industry and low-carbon construction, which Teknologiakiinteistöt also wants to invest in. My duties include planning space modifications for customers, and as a long-term project, I will be responsible for ensuring that up-to-date floor plans exist for all of Teknologiakiinteistöt’s buildings.
Saanio’s first weeks in the new job have been spent getting to know Teknologiakiinteistöt’s operations and attending various planning meetings. Expectations and reality have met well, and the reception has been relaxed and trusting.
– Here, people are allowed to work in their own way, employees are trusted, and different needs are taken into account. I prefer to work in silence, and the noise zones found in the Teknologiakiinteistöt office are a new and pleasant thing for me. I consider it a richness that people from different fields work here; people are more talkative and the atmosphere is bubblier than in a basic engineering office. Employees also sit freely around the office wherever they like, which increases discussion between people doing different kinds of work, Saanio says.