Maria Kanala

Experience

• 

  Antell

  Jan 1998 - Jan 2001

  Food Service Worker

  My responsibilities were preparing products into sale and shipping.

• 

  FIS-Nordic Opening Ruka Kisaorganisaatio

  Jan 2003 - Jan 2005

  Attache

  Seasonal work in November 2003, 2004 and 2005. My responsibilities were to guide and assist France National ski team.

• 

  Napapiirin Lahja Oy

  Dec 2003 - Jun 2004

  Sales

  My responsibilities were to take care of the souvenir shop and to sell souvenirs.

• 

  Antell

  Jul 2004 - Jan 2007

  B to C sales in Lapland area. B to B sales. My responsibilities were selling products via phone and office work.

  • Sales Representative

    Jan 2004 - Jan 2007

  • Sales Assistant

    Jul 2004 - Aug 2004
• 

  Arctic Safaris

  Jan 2005 - Jan 2007

  Freelance Guide

  Seasonal work as a guide. My responsibilities were to guide tourists, mostly french speaking groups, and to make sure that their holiday were memorable and unforgettable.

• 

  SantaPark ltd, ProSanta ltd

  Nov 2007 - Jan 2008

  Location Head

  My responsibility was to take care of the programmes that run in Joulukka - Santa Claus Secret Forest.

• 

  Laattamesta Oy

  Feb 2008 - Sept 2008

  Interior Decorator

  Bathroom planning and product sales.

• 

  Restaurant Ounasvalkea

  Aug 2011 - May 2012

  Waitress
• 

  Jakokäsi Oy

  Aug 2011 - May 2012

  Sales Associate

  B to C sales at Lapland area.

• 

  Airpro Oy

  Oct 2011 - May 2012

  Check in Agent

  My responsibility was to assist customers at Rovaniemi airport in check-in.

• 

  Utsjoen kunta

  Jul 2012 - Sept 2014

  Project Assistant / Tourism coordinator

  My responsibility was to develop Utsjoki tourism which included a new brochure, event management, Utsjoki tourism web-site, network and public relations. I was also responsible for project that run in municipality of Utsjoki. My work description also included substituting the service assistant of Utsjoki who is responsible for service desk. In service desk I assisted clients in social services, employment advising, police permission issues and early stage business advising.

• 

  Lapland University of Applied Sciences

  Sept 2016 - Dec 2017

  Masters Student

  Master of Hospitality Management. The main field of stydy for the qualification: Tourism.

• 

  Utsjoen kunta

  Sept 2016 - Jun 2017

  School Secretary / After school coordinator

  Assistant to the principal of Utsjoki primary school. My responsibilities also included coordinating projects and after school programs.

• 

  Municipality of Utsjoki

  Nov 2017 - Jan 2018

  School Coordinator

  School project management, risk assessment and office work.

• 

  Original Sokos Hotel Vaakuna

  Feb 2018 - Sept 2019

  Receptionist

  My daily reception tasks were multi-channel customer service and sales work maintaining and updating the various social media channels.

• 

  REDU

  Aug 2020 - Apr 2023

  Project Coordinator

  In the 'UPLIFTing with the employer image and well-being at work' -project, we developed the wellbeing factors and working skills of those working in tourism sector and service companies in Lapland. The perspectives were employee experience, responsibility, communication and customer experience. The main tasks included conducting performance and job satisfaction surveys for staff and companies, analyzing the results, and planning further actions. I contacted and recruited local tourism and service businesses in Lapland, developed project content, organized training and workshops, and handled the design and marketing of seminars and webinars. Additionally, I managed the project's communication and marketing across multiple channels. Show less

• 

  REDU

  Aug 2023 - now

  The aim of the 'Becoming a tourism expert through virtual training' -project is to build a virtual training package for the tourism industry, which can be used to train more prepared seasonal workers and strengthen their commitment to tourism work and Lapland. The aim is to support the employment of different target groups in the tourism sector and to support the continuation of competence development as apprenticeship training after the virtual training developed in the project. The aim of developing the new virtual training package is to offer seasonal workers and others interested in the field flexible opportunities to develop their skills regardless of time and place. The aim is to develop educational modules suitable for different target groups, educational content supporting blended learning and online learning materials for independent study. Show less The aim of the 'Sustainable Tourism Digital Badges' -project was to define a national user-oriented set of competences for sustainable tourism through frameworks and working partnerships. In the project we gathered research data and user-oriented experiences of sustainable tourism in different contexts. The purpose was to link the renewal of the tourism industry and the development of the skills of those working in tourism by increasing knowledge of sustainability and responsibility.In the project we created a digital, scalable, cross-educational competences framework to identify and recognise sustainability-related competences in the tourism sector. The competences were linked to national and EU-level frameworks, taking into account the competences needed in the tourism sector. Based on the criteria and competences, we designed a free online course at two different levels of education: Introduction to Sustainable Tourism and Advanced Sustainable Tourism. Show less

  • Project Manager

    Jan 2025 - now

  • Project Coordinator

    Aug 2023 - Dec 2024