Come work at Pilke

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Early childhood education and pre-school teacher Elina Saranki started work at the Mikkeli-based science-oriented daycare centre Pilke Sirius in August. She and her family had just moved to the city on the shore of Lake Saimaa from the Capital Region, from a distance of almost 250 kilometres.

The family left behind a compact apartment in Espoo and started to build a detached house in Mikkeli. The idea about moving across Finland had matured gradually.

Elina examined the employment situation in Mikkeli’s daycare centres. There were openings in both Pilke’s units and municipal daycare centres.

“Sirius’ science-orientation piqued my interest as did the new building as a work environment. As I had several years of experience as a pre-school teacher, I was naturally interested in corresponding duties.”

On the next day, Elina’s phone rang after the job interview – Daycare Centre Manager Henna Tolonen wished her welcome to Pilke Sirius.

“It was an easy decision to accept the job offer. After that, the gears started to turn with regard to other matters as well. We found daycare places for our children in Mikkeli, and started loan negotiations with our bank.”

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“My tutor’s support has really helped me integrate with the unit. I feel cared for and experience that even on the organisational level, Pilke pays attention to each individual. We are never left alone. Rather, we are asked how we’re doing and whether we need help.”

When a new good day maker joins the work community, Pilke’s regional and other management takes care of their induction to the duties, the company’s values and principles as well as the required information systems. Daycare centre managers are induced in Pilke Academy, the company’s management coaching programme.

As part of the induction training at Pilke’s daycare centres, each new daycare centre manager is designated a tutor to help them get started. The tutor provides peer support and assistance to facilitate familiarisation with the manager’s new responsibilities.

With our tutor activities, we wish to ensure that the new daycare centre manager does not feel left alone. The tutor is an easily approachable person from the nearest unit – a person the new manager can call with any everyday issue.

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Mira Nurmi is an experienced early childhood educator whose career at Pilke started in 2014 when the ownership of her workplace was transferred to Pilke. Nowadays Mira acts as Daycare Centre Manager in both daycare centre Pilke Hilma in Järvenpää and sports-oriented daycare centre Pilke Voltti in Mäntsälä. Many choose to take an exchange period during their studies, but it is rather rare to get a similar opportunity in the world of work. Pilke Daycare Centres decided to make use of the experienced manager’s solid pedagogical know-how and send her to Sotkamo in the Kainuu Region to support the consolidation of a new unit. This gave start to an expertise exchange concept which Pilke plans to keep up in the future.

The three-month exchange project was divided into two parts, in the first of which Mira spent five weeks in the music- and nature-oriented daycare centre Pilke Pajupilli in November and December 2019. Over this period, she familiarised herself with the unit, its situation and staff. At the same time, she planned new operating methods and change proposals that were introduced gradually. In January 2020, Mira returned for two weeks to see how the operation started to run.

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Hanna Salonen, Daycare Centre Manager, watches children play in the snow from the window of her office while reminiscing about the twists and turns of her career of almost 10 years.

As early childhood education and care had been a vocation for Hanna since she was a child, her graduation as a Bachelor of Social Science in 2010 was no coincidence. Pilke Daycare Centre’s job advertisement that described, among other things, the company’s values aroused her interest, and she ended up starting her career as an early childhood teacher in Espoo.

“Already after six months, I was requested to take up the position of Deputy Manager at Daycare Centre Hiirulainen, and I started taking care of administrative matters alongside the rest of my duties. After I moved to Kerava, Pilke offered me work at Daycare Centre Käpälämäki in Vantaa where I acted as Senior Early Childhood Teacher and managed the small unit’s administration. In 2014, I was appointed as Daycare Centre Manager,” Hanna recounts.

 

When Hanna’s spouse found employment in Tampere, Hanna applied for a new position in the region. It was not long until she was provided with a chance to realise one of her professional dreams and participate in establishing Pilke’s music-oriented unit Nuottisilta in Tampere.

Back home to close the circle

Hanna explains how she used to joke that as soon as Pilke would expand to Lapland, she would move back home too. After the birth of Hanna’s second child, the family started to find attractive the idea of moving back to Tornio, close to their social networks. As it turned out, plans for a Pilke daycare centre in Tornio were already underway, and the dream that had started from a laugh become reality. As a result, Hanna has managed two daycare centres since 2019: the music-oriented daycare centre Huvikumpu in Tornio and the nature-oriented daycare centre Virta in Keminmaa, the latter of whose establishment Hanna got to participate in.

“I’m more than satisfied by how the circle came to a close and how my round trip in various Pilke units led me back home to Tornio. With regard to fulfilling my professional ambitions, I’m grateful for the opportunities I have been provided with as well as for the trust placed on me. Right now, I’m happy where I am. In the future, however, I’d like to increase my professional expertise through further studies,” Hanna states.

A fitting employer with matching values

Similarly to Pilke, one of Hanna’s primary values is optimism. It is the value that Hanna believes has brought her where she is now. According to Hanna, her success is a result of both her own and Pilke’s optimistic attitude.

“What I appreciate in particular is Pilke’s low organisational hierarchy that enables smooth communication with experts. It has always been easy to ask and receive help, and every employee has the opportunity to influence their work. I’m particularly thankful for being able to express myself and perform meaningful work. My strengths have been taken into account and I have been asked to participate in various development projects and work groups.”

Hanna’s typical workday starts by wishing good morning to all the children and adults at the daycare centre. She enjoys her breakfast with the daycare group, after which it is time to immerse herself in office work. By the computer, Hanna plans work shifts and replies to parents’ inquiries about daycare places. Daycare Centre Manager’s responsibilities also include cooperation with the municipality with regard to daycare places as well as the pedagogical management of the unit.

Versatile and rewarding work as daycare centre manager

“As early childhood education teacher, the children were the best part of my job! In my current position, the most attractive aspect is the versatility of my duties. Even though I manage administrative tasks, I don’t consider my work monotonous – the children are always just a few steps away. I enjoy working with different kinds of people and being able to support others. It’s magnificent to be able to participate in the development of early childhood education and care.”

Hanna names her appointment as daycare centre manager the highlight of her career as she had dreamed of it already during her studies. Her career has progressed faster than she could have ever imagined.

According to Hanna, her greatest challenge is the limited amount of time at her disposal: when managing two daycare centres, she has little time for participating in the units’ everyday operation.

“Every now and then I feel inadequate as I’d like to spend more time with the children and see the groups’ operation. Most of my working time is consumed by operational, human resources and customer relationship management as well as financial responsibilities,” Hanna explains.

“The most important task of the daycare centre is to provide each child with a good day – every day.”

According to Hanna, a child’s good day consists of various aspects. In addition to healthy food, safety and warm hugs, each child needs to receive pleasant learning experiences through play and other everyday activities. It is important for the daycare personnel to know how to seize the right moments and provide the children with diverse activities in accordance with their interests

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Elina Inkovaara, 38, works as Senior Daycare Assistant at the science-oriented daycare centre Pilke Välke in Pori. A mother of two school age boys, she lives in the countryside with her family. There they run an organic farm, and Elina spends most of her free time in the field.

Elina’s work as Senior Daycare Assistant at Välke started in August 2018. By education, she is a restaurant cook and general upper secondary graduate. When Elina saw a notice about a new Pilke daycare centre being opened in Pori, she sensed the opportunity and contacted the regional manager.

“I emailed the regional manager to ask whether they had need for kitchen or cleaning personnel. She invited me to a meeting where I was interviewed by her and the daycare centre manager. A couple of weeks later, I was welcomed to work,” Elina recounts.

Elina enjoys her work. A regular day starts by making breakfast, doing the laundry and placing orders. The rest of the day she spends preparing lunch trolleys, serving lunch and snack and doing the dishes. At the end of the day, she cleans up the kitchen and washes the snack dishes, after which she can close the kitchen for the day. That is not all, however. Her workday also involves senior daycare assistant’s duties, such as placing catering and cleaning product orders by phone and email.

“Pilke Välke is a pleasant workplace with a positive and constructive atmosphere. The educators are flexible and help us assistants when required. In return, we help them with the children. We always aim to develop the work community and improve its functionality, sometimes through trial and error. We pull the same rope with a humorous twinkle in the eye,” Elina says.

There are also those days when the children and staff are sick, and a few pairs of extra hands are required. Luckily, the attentive work community is ready to help even on the busiest days.

“The things I like the most about my job are the children and quick passing of time. I’m not invisible to the children even though I work at the kitchen. A good workday consists of things that progress smoothly, without surprises and on schedule, not to forget pleasant intercourse with colleagues. I have fantastic workmates, and I get along well with everyone.”

Last spring, colleagues voted Elina to receive an additional paid day off.

“It was a wonderful surprise for which I’m grateful to my workmates. I spent the day off as a supervisor on my children’s class trip. This shows that at our workplace, daycare assistant is as important a role as any. We don’t have borders between professional groups,” Elina says.

According to Elina, a daycare assistant’s work is fitting for a person who likes to manage many things at once. The work requires a brisk touch as there are plenty of tasks to take care of during the day. One has to be prepared for quickly changing situations, and humour is the key to everything.

“Good humour takes you far even in unpleasant situations, such as epidemics or the like,” Elina concludes.

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If someone suddenly feels cranky in the daycare centre hallway, it is good to pause and ponder the situation together. Anu Volanen, Early Childhood Teacher, turns outbursts into successes.

 

“Each day’s best moment is when a child successfully learns something new,” says Volanen. For example, they may learn a new word or an everyday skill – or simply to put on their shoes by themselves.

“For a child, it’s a great success. It’s wonderful to be able to share this joy with the children.”

Volanen works at daycare centre Kanin Kolo in Espoo. She guides the group of 3–5-year-olds that currently has 23 children. The management of the unit’s everyday routines is based on plans prepared by the personnel and listening to the children’s wishes. In addition to providing care and education for the children, her work involves daily cooperation with families and planning the unit’s programme.

“Part of our job is reacting to everyday situations and part is carrying out the prepared plans.”

Even though one plans the day thoroughly and tries to anticipate the day’s events, everything does not always go as planned.

“If something goes wrong, we take a break with the children. We can, for example, sit down and have a chat. If required, we discuss the situation with the whole group and try to figure out why everyone is yelling or why the hallway is congested,” Volanen explains. “A large part of my work is finding the words for everyday life for the children.”

Volanen is generous with praises for her work community:

“People clearly have a drive for development at our workplace. Everyone wants to educate themselves, and the atmosphere encourages renewal. It is one of the reasons I work here.”

For example, the personnel were enthusiastic about examining the new National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care together. Another sign of enthusiasm is that the personnel wish to organise delightful events such as May Day celebrations with the children.

“The atmosphere is cheerful and positive. The children are regarded with genuine affection.”

It is a daycare centre where both the employees and the children enjoy coming to every morning.