Questions and answers about joint services for young people - Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment

Is the employment authority obliged to organise joint services for young people? Should the employment authority in future administer joint services for young people (now the One-Stop Guidance centers)?

The Act on Multisectoral promotion of Employment (381/2023) defines the task of the em-ployment authority to organise the operating conditions for a multisectoral support joint service promoting the employment of young people (section 16). Organising the operating conditions means that the labour force authority:

draw up an assessment of the need for a joint service for multisectoral support for young people in their area
negotiate with key actors in terms of joint services for young people in their area on the organisation of service points
and ensure that the joint service within its area of operation has a person responsible for coordinating services and activities

The Act does not specify the task of the employment authority to administer joint services for young people; instead, the employment regions may implement an administrative model suit-able for them. Existing structures can be utilised in the implementation and administration of the service. For example, youth services may have been responsible for the current one-Stop-Guidance Center activities. In the future, the activities may also be managed by a significant actor other than the employment authority.

One-Stop Guidance centers already have cooperation agreements negotiated with vari-ous parties. Does the cooperation agreements negotiated by the One-Stop Guidance centers override the cooperation agreements when the employment authority organises the operating conditions for joint services for multisectoral support for young people

It is not necessary to renegotiate existing cooperation agreements; instead, existing agreements can be utilised and, if necessary, updated. Therefore, there are no existing cooperation agreements that could be utilised in joint services for young people in areas where there has previously been no One-Stop Guidance Center activities. In this case, the employment authority must ensure that the operating conditions are organised and negotiate with the ac-tors essential for the service.

The Act on Multisectoral promotion of Employment (381/2023) lays down provisions on a cooperation model that promotes employment (sections 2-15, 19) and on joint ser-vices for multisectoral support for young people (section 16). How do these two ser-vices differ from each other?

The multisectoral support cooperation model applies to the current joint service promoting employment (TYP), whereas the multisectoral joint service for young people is a service such as the current One-Stop Guidance centers, which is easily accessible to young people. The multidisciplinary joint service for young people is based on the principles of the One-Stop Guidance Centre (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment 6/2018). Joint services for young people are low-threshold services offered to young people under 30 years of age by the authorities and other actors.

Can the name Ohjaamo/One-Stop Guidance center be used in the future when talking about joint services for young people?

According to the Act, the task of the employment authority is to organise the operating conditions for the joint service of multisectoral support for young people. When organ-ising the operating conditions, the labour market authority must prepare an assess-ment of the need for joint services for young people in its area. What should the assessment be like and what should be taken into account?

There are no detailed instructions for drawing up an assessment of the need for a joint service for multisectoral support for young people. However, when making the assessment, the employment authority must consult other service organisers and key cooperation partners. The guidance and service network for multidisciplinary cooperation between local authorities, as laid down in section 9 of the Youth Act (1285/2016), should be involved in the preparation of the assessment, and the information it compiles on the conditions in which young people grow up and live should be used.

The estimate should be updated at regular intervals.

The following up-to-date issues in the employment area should be taken into account in the assessment:

key actors in the regional service ecosystem for young people
the general labour market situation of young people
Development of structural unemployment among young people
public, private and third sector cooperation structures
situation of NEET youth
possible need for multicultural competence in services for young people

How to make use of the effective structures of the One-Stop Guidance centers in organising joint services for young people in accordance with the new Act?

Various studies and research have been carried out on the One-Stop Guidance centers, which show the functionality of the One-Stop Guidance centers. When considering joint services, it is appropriate to adhere to the service structures that have already been considered good and to consider the service as a whole together with the actors central to the service. Key actors include municipalities, wellbeing services counties, the national sector, companies and other authorities that provide services for young people.

The starting point for drafting the section on joint services for young people (section 16 of Chapter 381/2023) has been to strengthen low-threshold multidisciplinary youth-oriented work carried out by basic services and to make use of existing service structures. However, there are areas where there is no One-Stop-Guidance Center that could be used as a basis for joint services for young people. In this case, the structures of the joint service will be created by means of a service needs assessment in cooperation with the actors essential for the service.

What criteria have been set for the service point for multisectoral support for young people?

The planning of service points and services must be based on an assessment of the need for joint services for young people in the region prepared by the employment authority, in cooperation with key actors. The service should meet the service needs defined in the assessment in terms of resources, competence, service provision and accessibility. The service points must be easily accessible to young people. This means that the service point must play a key role so that as many young people in the area as possible can utilise the service.

The service points can be one-Stop-Guidance centers or similar joint service points, and they can be located as part of other existing service points, such as employment services or the health and social services centre. No separate premises would be required for multidisciplinary low-threshold services for young people. Instead, it would be appropriate to decide on the premises between the municipality, the county responsible for employment services and the wellbeing services county.

Information gathered by guidance and service networks or other similar joint working groups referred to in section 9 of the Youth Act can be used in the planning of service points.

Why is it important that the joint service for multisectoral support for young people has a person in charge of coordinating services and activities?

The need for a coordinating resource has been found to be critical for the implementation of the One-Stop Guidance Centre activities in genuinely multidisciplinary cooperation. One-Stop Guidance activities have had a person in charge of the services as a whole who coordinates the activities. Joint services for young people must also have a person in charge of the services as a whole. The responsible person may also be other than the employment authority. The responsible person plays an essential role in streamlining the service.