FF Trainee Program – A Journey of Continuous Learning 

My path to Forward Forever began when I was browsing job listings toward the end of my studies, and the FF trainee program caught my eye. Power Platform had been one of my favorite courses at school, and there was a company built entirely around it. Browsing their website gave me a good impression of a professional consulting company with a genuine mission. FF seemed like a place to learn from experienced professionals and at the same time work around technology I’m truly interested in. So of course I sent in my application! 

The interview process only deepened that positive feeling. The first interview round was a warm, relaxed conversation run by HR and a potential team lead. The six-month program sounded well structured, starting with learning and onboarding, then gradually moving toward real projects as competence grew. The second interview round involved a pre-assigned task resembling an actual customer scenario. I didn’t try to present a perfect solution. I shared what I knew and was honest about what I didn’t. Looking back, I think that’s what mattered most. Not a finished answer, but how you approach a problem and start to plan it. Things moved quickly after that, and one day I received a call with good news – the position was mine! 

And here I am, writing this blog post from the FF office roughly four months in, with a lot of already learned. 

Building the Foundation 

FF is a company that wants to develop its employees and share insights internally and externally. As a trainee during first months, colleagues run workshops for different Power Platform tools. That is a good way of getting to know both technology and co-workers at the same time. We also have internal showcases and monthly sessions where FF employees share discoveries about new updates, features and projects with each other. That is a great way of keeping up with rapidly developing field.

As a trainee, everything is new at first so there has been a lot of learning. Alongside workshops and internal materials, reading Microsoft Learn has been almost a daily habit for me. Building a solid foundation and learning new things has been exciting and efficient when you can listen to experienced colleagues sharing their knowledge and ideas, doing some deep diving into Microsoft Learn pages, and then sharing and discussing about your views and observations with colleagues. That goes especially for Konsta and Marko, who started as trainees the same day I did. Doing assignments and going through new things together is much easier and more fun than trying to solve problems on your own.

Putting It Into Practice 

Learning from workshops and reading materials only gets you started and going but at some point, you will get the chance to put those learnings into practice. It started with smaller tasks, and help was always available if needed. I agree with what my fellow trainee Konsta wrote in his trainee blog post – Trust has been there early on.  

There has been a working balance between self-imposed work but not feeling that you need to figure things out on your own. Learning happens best when tasks are challenging enough but not too overwhelming.  

I have been working on internal development and customer work. As my early stages of the Power Platform developer path, I have been liking that there has been a wide range of tools I have been working on such as: Azure, API’s, Canvas App, Dataverse, Model-driven App and Power Automate. For architectural understanding, it is valuable to have a sense of how things are related and how they work together.  

Even though a lot of this is new, I have been also working on things I have had some knowledge of before. I really enjoy UI/UX design and it has been great to work on application development assignments with successful user experience in mind.

Continuous Learning and Road Ahead 

Technology is changing so rapidly that continuous learning and staying up-to-dated is necessary whether you are a seasoned professional or a trainee. And I like it. Learning is not always fun and easy but really rewarding.

Things I didn’t know a couple months ago are now things I can build on. And that’s the right direction. Trainee program started with understanding basics and my competence has grown on top of that. You can’t go far if you don’t understand things in the first place.

For me, building good habits has helped with learning. Reading even a little Microsoft Learn regularly or keeping notes about what I have been working on. Those things add up in the long run. It reminds me of the core idea in James Clear’s Atomic Habits: small, consistent improvements every day may feel insignificant in the moment, but they lead to growth over time.

I see the FF trainee program like a journey of continuous learning. It is structured to build knowledge step by step, from foundational concepts to real customer work. Each phase adds something new, and progress only becomes visible when you look back at where you started.

And for the road ahead – I’m eager for learning much more step by step and I’m glad I’m in an environment where personal development and continuous learning are valued high.

Blog post writer, Power Platform Trainee: Markus Rautasalo

Markus is currently completing a Bachelor of Business Administration in Business IT and finalizing a thesis focused on UI/UX design. He started the FF trainee program in January 2026, and since then has been learning everything about the Microsoft Power Platform. His keen interest in creating intuitive and user-friendly experiences makes him a natural fit for application development work where design and technology meet.

Beyond academics and technology, his background is strongly rooted in basketball – having played several years professionally and more recently semi‑professionally while focusing on his studies.