Get to know more about an internship as an Austrian in Finland and how these kinds of experiences are taking my working and personal skills to another level.

My name is Georg Loibl, I am 21 years old, I am living in Austria and I am doing my internship in Finland. I have the pleasure to gain some incredible experiences in the North of Europe, in Turku, Finland. I have finished my apprenticeship recently and now I want to improve my skills as an industrial clerk, but also as a human being. I decided to choose Finland, because I didn't know too much about the country and culture before arriving here. I wanted to get to know more about life there. Now let me tell you more about an internship in Finland as an Austrian.

Where do Austrian apprentices go for an internship?

The statistics below show the countries where Austrian trainees have gone for an internship in 2022. There is lots of space to improve for Finland. Of course, the German-speaking neighbor Germany hosts the most interns, along with destination Spain. I am doing my internship at Nova Talent, and we want to figure out, how to get Finland more attractive for Austrian trainees and how the country can get more attention.

Mondi Neusiedler is the company where I did my apprenticeship. Now I am part of the company as an employee. It is known as one of the biggest paper and pulp mills in Austria. During my apprenticeship I got to work at 2 different locations. So I was able to work in different ways and got to work with different people on different tasks. And besides working in the company there are blocks of 10 weeks of school each year. The apprentices get a good combination of theory and practice during their apprenticeship.

The company consists of 2 locations: Kematen & Theresienthal

Doing an internship as an Austrian in Finland is an outstanding benefit for the Trainee, who gains more experience, but also for the Finnish company, which gets motivated and well-trained interns. You also get to know another culture with different habits compared to your native country.

I got to do many different tasks at the company. The most interesting task was probably the presentation about myself and my career. I did a presentation in front of more than 30 people and I talked about my life and career so far. I wanted to show them the possibilities for a career in Austria and what the education systems looks like.

During my internship at Nova Talent in Turku, I am also taking part in a project for another company, which wants to connect the Finnish and German-speaking market. I created an Excel-sheet with a huge list of companies in the textile industry and possible business partners for the future.

In my free time I explored the city of Turku. I got to see all the historical buildings and places. A few work colleagues from Austria visited me on my first weekend here, later I got to see the city of Helsinki too, and I was even able to spend a weekend in Stockholm, Sweden.

I am so proud and thankful for getting this experience of a lifetime. I definitely recommend going to Finland as an (Austrian) apprentice. Finland surely is an underrated country. I will always be happy about choosing Finland for my internship abroad. I have learned a lot for my working career, but even more for myself as a human being.

Written by Georg Loibl