The responsibility for organising public employment services will be transferred from the government to municipalities in the beginning of 2025

The change is due to a major reform, in which employment services will be transferred from the government to municipalities. The Employment and Economic Development Offices of the government, i.e. the current TE Offices, will be closed down. As a result of the reform, Finland will have 45 employment areas, which will be responsible for providing employment services from the beginning of 2025.

In the future, Rovaniemi and Ranua will form the Rovaseutu employment area. Customer service points for the employment services will be found in both municipalities.

The reform does not require any action from the customers

Customers of the existing TE Offices do not need to do anything or contact the local government pilot project or the TE Office separately regarding the reform. The service channels will remain unchanged, and Job Market Finland will continue to provide e-services for individual and corporate customers.
The municipalities will publish any changes to the email addresses or phone numbers of employment experts on their websites, among other places. During the autumn, the TE Offices and municipalities will provide information about the reform to customers and other residents of the municipalities via their own channels.

Services will come closer to the residents

As a result of the reform, the employment services will become one of the municipality’s basic services. In the future, residents can turn to their municipality in employment-related issues in the same way as when looking for information about building permits or day care placements.

Advice and guidance will be provided to job seekers in their job search and competence development and to companies in recruiting employees.
Municipalities know their residents and business life best, which enables them to tailor services to local and individual needs. This supports the faster employment of employees.

“We want to build a service that is familiar with the needs of the companies and job seekers in the region and where we can bring together job seekers and employers in many different ways,” says Sanna Mäensivu, Service Area Manager for the Business and Employment Services of the City of Rovaniemi.

Why are employment services being transferred to municipalities?

The goal of the reform is to improve the employment services and make them even more effective.
This is done by means such as targeting vocational training to better support employment in the region as well as the needs of the companies. In fact, in addition to individual customers, companies are an important target of the reform.

“We want to invest in services for entrepreneurs who are just starting out, for example. We also provide support with hiring the first employee,” says Samppa Määttä, Head of Vitality Services in Rovaniemi.

In the beginning of 2025, a new Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration will also take effect, transferring the overall responsibility for promoting integration to municipalities. Integration services are services intended for immigrants to promote their integration in Finland.

One of the purposes of the reform is to promote the role of integration in employment management. The aim is for the municipalities to play a more active role in attracting talent from outside the country’s borders, if necessary.

With the support of the European Social Fund, Rovaniemi will start to develop the International Rovaniemi service package, which will help new residents who are seeking employment or intending to become entrepreneurs in the area or have moved to the country for other reasons.