Career story: Festina Jusufi

4.4.2023

Name: Festina Jusufi
Business area: Risk Advisory, the SAP Security and Controls team
Started at Deloitte: February 2022
Educational background: Industrial Engineering and Management, Tampere University
What do you do in your spare time? I spend a lot of time with my 9-year-old little brother. We like to watch movies, try out new sports, and visit museums and different restaurants together.
What is your greatest passion? I like different types of music and I am interested in discovering new genres.

What kind of background do you have?

I’m studying industrial engineering and management at Tampere University. My major is in industrial and business economics, and my minor is in data technologies. Currently, I am doing my master’s thesis. My intention is to graduate as a Master of Science (Technology) within a few months. During my studies I have worked at the university as a research assistant and as a trainee in summer positions in different industrial companies.

What inspired you to apply to Deloitte?

Deloitte has become familiar to me through its university collaborations. In addition, I already knew peers from my studies who had started at Deloitte before me, and I had heard good things about the firm and the trainee programme from them. I started as a trainee in our SAP Security and Controls team in February 2022. I was particularly interested in the fact that the work combined ERP systems with security and risk management. After the four-month trainee period, I was offered to continue at Deloitte with permanent employment as a consultant.

How did you end up participating in the Nordic SAP Graduate Programme?

Before my trainee period ended, my coach asked if I would be interested in applying to the Nordic SAP Graduate Programme. When I heard more about the programme, I was definitely interested. In the programme, you learn more about SAP and generally learn about management consulting, get to know clients’ SAP projects, complete a certificate related to your work, and meet and network with other Nordic colleagues at the same career level. The programme also has a focus on getting to know Deloitte’s SAP offering in the Nordic countries and understanding to which business areas SAP is related. You truly get to know the meaning of the ‘multidisciplinary model’.

What has the programme provided for you?

As part of the programme, I have had the opportunity to travel to different training sessions together with the other participants on the programme. The training sessions have been held in Sweden, Belgium, Portugal and most recently in Tampere in Finland. They have deepened my understanding of the different possibilities SAP offers, and also of what is done in other Deloitte countries and of the business functions related to SAP. One concrete part of the programme is the certificate that the participants need to obtain. In my case it is a certificate offered by SAP: I am completing the ‘SAP System Security and Authorisations’ certificate. Along with participating in this programme, I am also part of my own SAP Security and Controls team’s client projects.

How have you developed during the programme and has anything surprised you?

I have learned to more maturely perceive what different pieces SAP projects can contain. It has been surprising how many things there are in the ERP itself and how many things it affects. I have also learned a lot about the co-operation between different Deloitte member firms.

What has been the best thing about the programme?

We have had clear learning goals and what is expected of us during the programme has been elaborated from the beginning. I feel that a lot has been invested in us as participants and that we are cared for. My expectations have been fulfilled.

Furthermore, it has been amazing to get to know the people involved in the programme. Not only the other participants but also the programme coordinators and other Deloitte professionals from different business units that have held the trainings for us. I have made friends with my Nordic colleagues, whom I can always contact and ask for help.

What are your plans for after the programme?

I look forward to being able to bring my expertise to my team’s SAP risk projects with even more confidence and independence. During the programme, my interest in SAP sustainability has grown, and I am eager to learn more about it and how SAP could help, for example, in sustainability reporting. I am also hoping that in the future I will be able to participate in a big SAP implementation project with my expertise.

What tips would you give for those who are thinking to apply to the programme?

In general, it is always worthwhile to think how you elaborate your interests and skills. Be clear on what your learning objectives are regarding the programme and how the programme benefits you. On the other hand, it is also very important to say what you can bring to the programme and how the others in the programme will benefit from your skills and knowledge.