At Ombrelossa, students gain hands-on work experience – summer employees have nothing but good things to say

At Ombrelo, which provides speech therapy services, speech therapy students are warmly supported by offering them summer jobs and opportunities to complete the practical training periods required in their studies. Ombrelo already operates in five different cities, from Raahe to Pori. At Ombrelo, speech therapy services are also available in Swedish.

Work experience complements what you learn in your studies

Speech-language pathology students Ulriikka Hänninen and Elisabeth Blomqvist worked at Ombrelo during the summer of 2021. At the same time, Ulriikka completed the clinical placement required in her studies in Seinäjoki, and Elisabeth will return in fall 2022 to complete her final internship in Kokkola. Both were very satisfied with their experiences at Ombrelo.

“It was great to be able to put what I’d learned at school into practice, all the way to working with clients. The internship gave me more self-confidence and confirmed that this is the right field for me,” Ulriikka says.

“My experience in the summer job was so positive that I can’t wait to return to working life. At the same time, my fourth year of studies has been really rewarding, because after the summer job I can see much more clearly how theory connects to practice,” Elisabeth continues.

Support from the work community and client work were the highlights of the summer

Both speech therapy students praised the support they received from their work community. They felt they were welcomed with open arms and that their opinions about the work were genuinely asked for.

“The discussions we had within the work community were really good, and it was fantastic to be able to ask questions from people with first-hand experience of practical work. It also felt safe to talk within the team about work-related issues that were on my mind,” Ulriikka says.

Both Ulriikka and Elisabeth recommend Ombrelo as a place to gain work experience. They each gained valuable experience and professional confidence for the future through their summer jobs. Clients also benefit from getting access to services more quickly if they are willing to work with a student. The internship supervisor and the whole work community support the students and their client work throughout the client relationships.

“Nina, Ombrelo’s CEO, supervised us every week, which made everything feel safe. I felt I was truly helping clients, because there is a shortage of speech therapy services and many were grateful they could start therapy with a student. Doing client work at Ombrelo during a summer job is not mandatory, but it is possible, and I can warmly recommend it to students,” Elisabeth adds.

In summer 2022, all Ombrelo locations will again have summer employees. In the Kokkola and Pori areas, it is also possible to start therapy with a summer employee. Therapy inquiries can be made directly through Ombrelo’s website.