Rutuja Godase is one of many Kiitorata trainees who has continued working at OP Financial Group after finishing the traineeship. We were lucky to have the opportunity to talk to the cloud enthusiast, who now works with AWS and Microsoft Azure as a Junior Developer.    

Hi Rutuja! It's so lovely you were available for some quick questions! First off, how would you describe the Kiitorata programme in your own words?  

Kiitorata provides excellent opportunities for people who are just starting their career journeys. It allows them to work with expert guidance in their respective areas. All participants have personal mentors guiding them in taking their careers in their desired direction. In addition, I was happy to discover that the supervisors and team members were very helpful in introducing us to the corporate world and our respective roles.     

And now, please tell us a bit about your educational background and how you joined the programme.  

I have a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering. After finishing my studies and the AWS Re/start programme, I wanted to further develop my skills in cloud computing. Kiitorata seemed like the best way to begin my journey as a Developer and increase my competencies within the field.    

What did you do as a trainee, and what kind of technologies did you get to use?   

I worked in the AWS Team as a Developer Trainee and was responsible for handling Cloud Competency Center tickets. In practice, this meant creating new AWS accounts, maintaining user access, and helping users with issues related to their accounts.   

My tasks gave me hands-on experience with the public cloud. I learned about automation and continuous improvement. For example, we built scripts and pipelines to create the AWS accounts instead of doing them manually. I also used new technologies like Docker and was introduced to DevOps concepts. Thanks to the 70-20-10 model, I had time to study in OP's Software Academy and achieve a few certificates from AWS and Azure.    

What was the best part of the programme?   

There are so many roles across different business areas and technologies, which allows you to choose the areas that interest you the most. If selected, you get to work with top-of-the-field experts with years and even decades of experience. I also appreciate that it's possible to continue working at OP after the trainee period is over – and I was lucky enough to be one of those people!     

Any greetings to those out there thinking about applying?   

Kiitorata is genuinely an inspiring programme; as the name implies, it provides a runway to speed up your career. At the same time, you get to work for the most significant financial group in Finland with an agile mindset. So, if you're pursuing a master's programme, are a university graduate, or are in the early stages of your career, don't hesitate to apply! 

Thank you, Rutuja; we wish you great success on your OP journey!