Young Professionals: Project Management Skills Important In The Future Work Life

Young Crew Finland interviewed 2021’s national Project Management Championship winners Diana Codilla, Olli-Pekka Kaleva, and Tiia Virtanen from the Haaga Helia University of Applied Sciences to understand how these young professionals from different backgrounds and industries see the role of professional project management in the rapidly changing work life.

Project Management Championship is a three-stage competition consisting of a qualification round, the national finals, and the international final. The national winning team represented Finland at the International Project Management Championship finals in September.

This year’s national winners have all exceptionally vast work-life experience. The team shares an understanding that project management skills are useful in different phases of a career and most often bring additional value to the personal professional toolkit.

You have all studied in different fields at the University, Diana International Sales and Marketing, Tiia International Business and Olli-Pekka ICT and Business. How do you see the importance of being a certified project professional in your industry?

Olli-Pekka: Everything in IT is related to project management and it is beneficial to understand what is expected from you. You need to know about technology but if you do not understand agile ways and how projects work, it is very difficult to thrive.

Tiia: From all the important skills I would say that time and team management skills and soft skills, like the ability to work with different kinds of people, are important and needed in the business world.

Diana: Managing time and being ready for changes, handling risks, and leading people at the same time are all something beneficial in international sales and marketing.

Have you got an example of where you would have noticed PM skills useful in your life?

Tiia: I have run my own restaurant, and project management skills are very beneficial for any entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, work can be very hectic, there is no room for mistakes, and you need to be very synchronized with your team. Multitasking, time management, and strategic thinking are important skills for every project manager.

Diana: I have been leading my own bakery and I would emphasize the importance of risk management. You need to know the impact of your actions, know the competence of your team, and have clear goals to maximize the chances of succeeding.

Olli-Pekka: Project managers need to practice understanding other people and empathy. Everything else can be taught to you but empathy is something you need to teach to yourself.


You participated in the PMC finals and successfully won the national finals 2021. How would you describe the experience?

Tiia: The experience was quite hectic. To know that time is running out and there is only a limited amount of time was stressful. Also, the qualification round was quite hard, it made us realize that there is still so much to learn. We were able to create a safe environment during the competition, so I think that was also one of our keys to success.

Olli-Pekka: We had a really good and experienced team. I felt that during this competition the leadership came from the team dynamics – to handle the relationships and create working dynamics within the team – that’s true leadership.

Diana: The competition was very intensive and exciting, and I learned that the skills of making decisions fast and communicate well as a team play an important role in the competition. It was the most hectic day in my whole studying life!

What types of projects do you see yourself being involved in a few years?

Tiia: Starting from this fall I will be living in the USA. My dream job would be working in production management in the movie industry. Big projects in the real estate industry would also be interesting.

Olli-Pekka: I want to keep all options open for my future career. But with any projects, my ultimate aim is to produce more value for my stakeholders.

Diana: I am eager to continue managing different projects. Hopefully, I will be working in the real estate during the upcoming years.

What advice would you give to young project management professionals or people who are studying project management – what are the most important things young project professionals could focus on?

Olli-Pekka: Be open-minded. Create safe spaces for your team and focus on the team dynamics.

Tiia: Take small steps at a time and focus on understanding the big picture.

Diana: Be open to changes, keep educating yourself and look at the whole picture when leading projects.

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Young Crew Finland is a network for young project professionals. Grow your social connections, learn new things and develop your skills. Our goal is to help young professionals to build their expertise. This year we also aim to get more young professionals to join our forces. We operate in English and organize events also in Finnish. Please share our information with your own organization’s young talents!


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Text: Laura Luomanen-Jaakkola, Director of Professional Development, New Nordic School, Co-head of Young Crew Finland

Photos: Pixabay (main pic) & PRY (PMC 2021 winning team)