K-retailers and Kesko will have a total of around 5,000 summer employees next summer. The number is approximately the same as in previous years. The K-Group is one of the largest summer employers in Finland.
In the K-Group, most of the summer jobs for young people and students are available at K-food stores. Summer is high season for building and home improvement stores, too, which hire seasonal workers to their yard and garden departments. Summer jobs available at Kesko are at the warehouses, for instance.
"The number of summer employees is divided in such a way that K-retailers employ nearly 4,000, while Kesko Group with its subsidiaries hire more than 1,000 summer employees," says Kesko Corporation's Recruitment Specialist Anu Haapoja.
Good induction makes work a pleasure
For many young people, a summer job is their first experience of the working life -something they will remember long. The K-Group takes responsibility by providing young people with a brisk start in their jobs.
The K-Group has collected feedback on the work and particularly on the induction from young employees. On the basis of this feedback, special material has been prepared to support retailers and supervisors in this induction. In addition, there is also online training on induction available which contains information on the K-Group's common working principles, customer service and responsibility.
"A proper induction makes work more enjoyable and promotes a brisk approach. It is nice to come to a K-job when you know how to act and whom to turn to for help. Our online training material serves as a general introduction to working life which may still be somewhat unfamiliar to young people," says Haapoja.
In retail stores, the K-job mainly consists of shelving products, keeping the store neat and tidy, and serving customers. Particularly in small stores, duties often get more varied and more responsible as the summer proceeds and the employee's skills increase.
Most summer employees start work in June, but in retail stores the summer job season begins in May and continues until late August.
Many ways to finding employment
Kesko and K-retailers employ young people through many channels. The Learn and Earn summer training programme gives experience of the retailing sector to the youngest. Many retailers accept students for short-term orientation in working life. If the training period goes well, the result may be a permanent job in the store. Kesko and K-retailers also participate in the Youth Guarantee programme. Since August 2013, more than 2,500 young people in the sphere of the Youth Guarantee have been employed by the K-Group.
"Kesko and K-stores annually employ around 10,000 young people aged under 30 in Finland," saysHaapoja.