Questions and answers on Työkanava Ltd

In accordance with the Government Programme, a new special assignment company wholly owned by the State has been established. The Government’s proposal for an act on a limited liability company called Työkanava Ltd and related acts was submitted to Parliament on 21 October 2021. Parliament adopted the act on 16 March 2022 and it entered into force on 1 July 2022. 

Työkanava's business activities have been launched in stages during the latter part of 2022. The first persons with partial work ability will start working for the company in early 2023.

The Government aims to promote the employment of persons with impaired capacity to work and to develop the intermediate labour market. As part of this package, the Government decided to create a new target-oriented intermediate labour market operator business in Finland – Työkanava Ltd. It aims to improve the prospects of persons with impaired capacity to work and others in a vulnerable situation to enter the open labour market by offering them subsidised jobs as well as the training and other support they need for the transition to the open labour market.

Until now, those in the most difficult position have lacked a path from services to work, because they need a significant amount of support while they work. Työkanava will offer a new operating model for this.

Työkanava will begin to operate in stages by means of public funds allocated to it.

In the second supplementary budget for 2022, an initial capital of EUR 10 million has been allocated to the company from the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland and another EUR 10 million in discretionary government grants. Funding for the following years has been reserved in the decision on central government spending limits, and Parliament will decide on the appropriations in the Budget annually. It is the intention that the sale of services would later generate at least one third of Työkanava’s revenue.

Työkanava Ltd is a state-owned special assignment company that employs the most difficult-to-employ unemployed and willing to work with partial work ability by offering them an employment contract and by selling their work input to its customers. The company’s objective is to improve their labour market skills and other competences so that as many of them as possible would be able to transition from Työkanava to the open labour market.

Työkanava is wholly state-owned company. It is an ordinary limited liability company, the operations of which are regulated by legislation. It also carries the same risks as any other limited liability company. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is in charge of the ownership steering of the company.

The customers include companies, organisations, public sector entities and private consumers in need of labour. This is a way for the customer to show social responsibility.

The company will decide on its own business operations. The operation of the Työkanava is likely to resume in sectors with a shortage of labour. This remains to be seen and depends on the sectors in which the customer companies in the work channel operate.

According to the Työkanava Ltd Act, the company’s operations may not distort competition. The pricing of the services provided by the company must be market-based. Työkanava Ltd is a company that provides services of general economic interest referred to in the European Union’s state aid rules. The competition Act and the Act on public Procurement and concession contracts shall also apply to the company.

There are no companies operating with the same business idea or concept as the Työkanava Ltd in Finland. The company works together with social enterprises that integrate into the work and third-sector service providers and may use their services.

Työkanava will launch its operations in the form of pilots with a few customers that operate in different sectors. 

The company reports open vacancies only to the Ostrobothnia TE Office, which has received a special assignment from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment to assign employees to Työkanava. 

The Ostrobothnia TE Office finds suitable employees for Työkanava’s vacancies in the customer information system of TE authorities.  The customer information system includes those jobseekers that a TE authority in the TE Office or the local government pilot on employment has evaluated to be suitable for work at Työkanava. Suitability is assessed across Finland based on the same criteria laid down in the Act. 

When the Ostrobothnia TE Office finds a suitable person for an open vacancy at Työkanava, it will assign the person to Työkanava as an employee. Subsequently, Työkanava concludes an employment contract with the employee. In addition, the company as the employer is responsible for the orientation and training of the employee.

They are persons whose disability or illness significantly reduces their chances of finding employment that work other than through the work channel is unlikely. It is also unlikely that services that improve employment or the preconditions for employment could improve this probability.

In the early stages of its operation, the Työkanava Ltd employs an estimated few hundred persons with partial work ability each year. The aim is to have approximately 1,000 permanent employees in an employment relationship.

Working in Työkanava on the open labour market has the greatest impact on the employee. Työkanava will develop the skills and capabilities of the persons it has hired to improve their capacity to work in the company. Beyond this, the intention is to use existing employment services or services offered by the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela) and the social welfare system for additional upskilling. These services include support provided by a job coach or a work capacity coordinator.

The company does not provide public services. Instead, the purpose of Työkanava is to offer work. It serves as an employer to persons with impaired capacity to work who are in an employment relationship.
 
Työkanava strives to ensure that its employees receive the public services they are entitled to. Like other employers, Työkanava complements these services with services it organises itself, such as occupational health care. 

Työkanava’s aim is to offer people jobs of a sufficiently long duration and to support people in the work. It also helps people with impaired capacity to work advance in their careers and find employment in the open labour market.

In practice, they can do almost any work. People with partial work ability have a wide range of skills and their educational background is broad and diverse.

However, the work tasks depend on Työkanava’s customers, i.e. the companies, corporations, public administration bodies and others who want to buy labour input from Työkanava.

Similarly to other employers, Työkanava Oy may provide skills development services itself or, if needed, purchase complementary services to develop the skills of its employees. Työkanava would primarily utilise public employment services for this purpose. 

Työkanava may also purchase upskilling services from other intermediate labour market actors, organisations and other service providers through competitive tendering in accordance with the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Contracts. In some situations, Työkanava may also produce skills development services itself.

The premise of Työkanava is that supporting work capacity is worthwhile and promotes equality, because meaningful work, income and a work community improve people’s sense of inclusion in society. Apart from the benefits for an individual, Työkanava’s purpose to offer work to the most disadvantaged people with impaired capacity to work carries social importance.

Although the company's operations are based on performance and targets, its objective is not to generate profits. Any profits will be used to develop the activities.

The company provides Services of General Economic interest (SGEI) referred to in the EU state aid rules.

Työkanava’s operations also reflect corporate social responsibility in that they implement the obligations of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

The number of board members is consistent with that of any other limited liability company.
The board consists of persons with diverse skills and competences. This will ensure the company’s success in business.

Työkanava’s board will be chaired by Under-Secretary of State Elina Pylkkänen from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment while Jukka Kinnunen, a retired chief executive, will serve as vice-chair. The other board members are Raimo Antila, Director General, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health; Sirpa Huuskonen, Vice President, Tokmanni; Essi Lindberg, Communications Manager, Labore; Jukka Lindberg, Development Manager, Vates Foundation and Leena Munter, Director of Change Management, Business Finland.

The company’s operative management is responsible for risk management together with the board.

Above all, the company provides work experience for people with partial work capacity who are the most difficult to employ and thus improves their labour market skills. Without the opportunities offered by the company, these persons will not have much opportunities to find employment in the open labour market.

The company also helps companies in the shortage of labour. This allows the company’s own employees to focus on core business.

Many companies and communities can strengthen their social responsibility by cooperating with the Työkanava.

The work input of people with partial work ability and those difficult to employ is also needed to raise the employment rate.

State ownership policy and steering are based on the ownership Steering Act (1368/2007) and the Act amending the State shareholdings and ownership Steering Act (1315/2016). State ownership steering means the exercise of the State’s right to vote at general meetings as well as other measures by which the State as a shareholder contributes to the company’s governance and operating principles.

From the perspective of ownership steering, it is important for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment that the Työkanava carries out its basic tasks. The Ministry supports the company in this work and monitors the achievement of the objective.

The chosen approach is based on the proposal of rapporteur Hannu Mäkinen. He ended up rejecting, for example, the model for a job bank experiment because: “The experiment did not achieve the desired scale. The results for each target group were uneven. The level of transitions and personnel hire were remarkably low for persons with impaired capacity to work compared to their number in the job banks. Job bank services did not solve the employment challenges faced by groups that are the most difficult to employ.”

Samhall has worked successfully for around 40 years in Sweden, and it is one of the most important companies in Sweden.

No, cannot, for directly. The Työkanava cooperates with the TE authorities, and persons with partial work ability can get a job in the Työkanava only through the TE Office. A person with partial work ability interested in working in the Työkanava must therefore register as a jobseeker either with the local TE Office or with the municipality’s TE services if the municipality is involved in the local government experiment on boosting employment. Jobseekers interested in the Työkanava can themselves request an assessment of their suitability for the channel as part of the employment plan update.

The transfer of public employment services to municipalities in 2024 will change the structure and content of service provision in many ways. In connection with the preparation of the reform, the service received by Työkanava Ltd in the new situation will also be discussed.

Työkanava's own website will be opened in early 2023. In matters related to Työkanava, please contact CEO Sari Nikkola, sari.nikkola(at)tyokanava.fi.