Special Features of the Finnish Labour Market and Challenges for Education.

Research synthesized from three studies of the Finnish labor market indicates that a rapidly changing working life in Finland (and the rest of Europe) sets many different challenges for the workforce. In Finland, the population is even more aged than in the other European Union (EU) member states, and the transition of older workers to retirement is also happening, on average, faster than in other EU countries. Demand in the Finnish labor market is directed to the younger, and usually more educated group, while the supply comes increasingly from the aging group. Current developments in demographic structure and the eagerness of employees to take early retirement have stimulated the debate over ways of maintaining working capacity. Education and training is considered essential for older workers (aged 45 and over). A large proportion of these workers should be retrained or given supplementary training to avoid their early retirement. On the other hand, the situation of younger and more highly educated workers is not easy either. Many younger workers find themselves over-educated and under-employed, since a high level of education does not guarantee sufficient occupational know-how. Employment qualifications favored by employers are work experience, personality, and academic credentials. The challenge to education and labor policy in Finland and the EU will be to determine how to balance the work experience of older workers and the academic knowledge of younger workers. (KC)