Nurses, doctors and police officers top employment rankings, Yle finds

Nurses, doctors, police officers and psychologists have the strongest employment prospects among graduates, according to Yle’s degree comparison tool. But student organisations warn that no qualification guarantees a job.

The tool, based on Statistics Finland data from 2023, shows that about one in three visual artists, English translators and media graduates are unemployed.

Petra Pulli, chair of the National Union of University Students in Finland, said demand for workers can change quickly. In 2023, there was talk of a shortage of software developers, she said, but an artificial intelligence agent can now do in two minutes work that would take a developer two weeks.

Pulli recommends students build broad knowledge and take courses across different fields. Flexibility can prepare graduates for a wider range of jobs, she said, adding that opportunities for further training are important.

Helena Maijanen, chair of the Union of Students in Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences, said degrees that do not lead directly to a job in the student’s chosen field can still provide valuable workplace and teamwork skills. Arts and culture graduates may find work outside their field, she said.

Internships are a bottleneck

Finding an internship is one of the biggest obstacles to entering working life, Pulli said. Psychologists have strong employment prospects after graduation, but employers may lack the resources to supervise interns. There is also a serious shortage of places to complete thesis work in some areas, she said.

The government has sought to address unemployment by increasing higher education places. In the spring, it decided to add 1,095 places at universities and universities of applied sciences. Student organisations welcomed the additional places and the goal of raising the number of people with higher education qualifications.

Finland’s unemployment rate remains among the highest in the EU. In September, unemployed people accounted for 11 per cent of the workforce.

Student organisations also want to expand the use of an employment voucher intended to help young people get hired by companies. The subsidy covers half of a young person’s salary for six months, up to 1,500 euros a month. The organisations criticised the abolition of adult education support, saying it makes retraining harder for people who lose their jobs.