Career | CEO Roosa Haataja, 23, is leaving her job in a traditionally male field: “Sense is slowly starting to knock in the head”

Finland became the youngest managing director of a trotting company at the beginning of last year Pink Haataja will leave his position after the final trots of the season on September 8.

The departure from the leadership of Kainuu Ravirata oy took place on Haataja’s initiative and is related to the situation and future prospects of the ravirata industry. Haataja, 23, considers them impossible.

“It all goes back to the ever-wonderful Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,” he says, referring to the financier of trotting sports.

The ministry cut the running support of the trotting track company by more than 27,000 euros this year.

“With that, I already knew in January that when the season ends, the situation will be that there is no possibility to work all year round in these jobs.”

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“There is no possibility of working all year round.”

Haatajan the decision was confirmed when the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry sent a recovery letter in the summer. It cut another thousands of euros in the budget.

“The end result is that our operating support is more than 32,000 euros less than in the originally calculated budget for this year,” says Haataja.

The recovery concerns the year 2022, when Haataja was not yet in his position. He still uploads direct words about making fundraising “practically impossible”.

“Money must be made from places that do not affect operating support, i.e. it must be something other than profits from trotting competitions,” he says.

“In practice, that means that, for example, our area should be rented out for other activities, but at the same time the horse people would have to use it for training.”

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“Our area should be rented out for other activities.”

Kajaani the race track located in the north has only six race days during the soon-to-end summer. There were still 11 trot days in 2019, and eight last year as well.

“It doesn’t seem terribly fair. If people feel that there are not enough regional hobby or competition opportunities, then does it make sense”, asks Haataja.

It’s hundreds of kilometers from Kainuu to raves in, for example, Kuopio, Oulu and Joensuu. Trips increase costs and take time.

“Many do this in addition to their work, and with feeling and not at all with reason. People should be compensated for the work done, but in practice it has been made impossible.”

Haataja also says that he enjoyed his work, so to speak, for the love of the sport. He has experienced a strong emotional bond with his tasks.

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“Many do this in addition to their work, and with emotion and not at all with reason.”

Mere however, love of sports does not bring bread to the table, and it does not help pay the bills, which Haataja knows very well.

“Little by little, reason is starting to knock in the main cabin that we should think a little about whether it’s worth doing this with feeling, if we need to be able to support ourselves all year round.”

Haataja has sometimes thought that taking care of tasks on a voluntary basis would be a good thing. At the same time, he realizes that the ideas are utopian.

“I think the banks won’t believe me if I say I don’t have time for work when I do this good thing as a hobby. It doesn’t work when you are financially dependent on money.”

“When I have all the costs of living, starting with the mortgage, I want to work without thinking about, for example, if there will be any next month,” he adds.

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“Little by little, reason is starting to knock in the main cabin that we should think a little.”

To the railway company if he stayed, Haataja would have had to be laid off, because the company cannot keep permanent employees at work during the winter due to its financial situation.

A situation in which half of the year is “worked in a hat almost around the clock” and the other half is “in the middle of nowhere without regular income”, does not serve anyone, says Haataja.

“I am a working person, and I like and definitely want to work. If it is said that 11 months of the year would be work, then that is my ideal and goal,” he adds.

Haataja told about his situation on the networking service Linkedin at the beginning of August and soon received a job offer from his old employer. However, the job would require moving elsewhere.

“Kainuu is my heart and home. I live here with pride, I carry Finnishness with me and I’m really at home here, even though I got to see southern Finland as well.”