Skills generate growth and wellbeing
Finland requires a skilled labour force for its wellbeing, competitiveness and success. Finland’s future is built on strong general education and skills acquired in vocational and higher education. Any competence can be valuable regardless of where it has been acquired: in studies, work or leisure time.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment
- promotes ways to identify and highlight the skills of working-age people in particular
- supports career planning of jobseekers
- enables studies
- promotes the integration and employment of immigrants.
Retaining and continuously developing skills are important questions in the discussion on whether Finland will have enough skilled employees to meet the needs of companies and public services in the future. Skilled labour is a key growth factor that improves companies’ ability to innovate and compete. The green and digital transitions also require new kinds of competences.
Increasing the match between jobs and employees requires, in particular:
- high-quality anticipatory data on the labour and skills needs in different sectors and regions and any changes to them
- active labour and education policy
- cooperation between administrative branches
- mobility across professions and regions
- high-quality information, advisory and guidance services available widely
These measures can promote the working life skills and competence of the working-age population, especially those outside the labour market or those who rarely participate in training. Particular attention must be paid to the prevention of social exclusion and to multisectoral services for young people, the employment of people with impaired capacity to work and the extension of working careers of older people.
The quality of working life and everyday practices at workplaces must be continuously developed in a goal-oriented manner. Successful companies are founded on the wellbeing of employees who can and want to influence their work and who feel that they can cope in a changing working life.