In the municipal experiment of employment in central Finland, personal coaching seems to bite into long-term unemployment among young people
Central Finland's municipal experiment has been particularly successful in reaching young job seekers in its first year of operation in 2021. In addition, the municipal experiment has invested in business cooperation by speeding up the processing times for applications for wage support and start-up money. Kuntakokeilu's personal trainers have also inspired unemployed job seekers to study hard and update their skills. The national municipal employment experiment has been running for almost a year. The city of Äänekoski has been involved in the municipal experiment from the beginning, since March 1.3.2021, XNUMX.
Long-term youth unemployment is decreasing in the Jyväskylä region's employment pilot area. During the municipal trial, young people have been guided to look for a job or study with the help of personal guidance. At the end of 30, there were 2021 young unemployed jobseekers under the age of 3 in the Jyväskylä region's municipal experiment, of which 381 were long-term unemployed youth. At the start of the municipal experiment, there were 879 unemployed jobseekers under the age of 30, of which 4 were long-term unemployed youth. Every young person is especially important to the municipality.
Young people under the age of 30 are guided to services and working life in the municipal probationary municipalities more precisely than before. At its highest last year, the youth activation rate was 33,5%, which is the average level of activation rates nationwide. The activation rate refers to the percentage of unemployed jobseekers covered by the services out of the total sum of unemployed jobseekers and those covered by the services. A high activation rate is good, because it means that as many job seekers as possible are involved in some job search service.
- As job seekers, we have a particularly high number of young people who are without vocational training or who have dropped out of their studies several times. The purpose of the municipal experiment is also to pilot suitable services that primarily interest young people. Good successes have already been achieved in reaching young people to services. Employment services are shifting to the responsibility of municipalities during 2024, when the municipality can also influence services that support job seekers more, says the director of the Jyväskylä region's municipal experiment on employment Hanna Leave.
Although the municipal experiment has especially involved young people in employment services or job search, the experimental municipalities have not yet reached the pre-corona level in terms of activation rate. The number of long-term unemployed people of all ages has increased and the duration of the job search has generally increased throughout the country.
Employment plans have been updated particularly well, especially in Äänekoski and Laukaa
In the municipal experiment, the application process for wage support has been speeded up since a year ago, and wage support applications are processed in the best of two days, when the right employer and employee meet. One of the goals of the municipal experiment has been the smooth granting and utilization of salary support. Employment with wage support has increased in 2021 so that it is again at the level of 2019 before the corona pandemic. For example, in December 2021, two-thirds of jobseeker clients employed with wage support were clients of the municipal trial.
- The self-coaches of the experiment have succeeded particularly well in making use of the wage subsidy paid to employers in order to employ job seekers. Every job seeker has a personal coach with whom they can look for a job. Wage support is a good tool to get access to the open labor market and get to know the employer. In addition to the wage subsidy, the employer can be granted a municipal supplement of 300 or 600 euros per month for the costs of training the employee, says Hanna Lähteelä, director of the municipal experiment of employment.
The purpose of the municipal experiments is to improve access to the labor market especially for those who have been unemployed for longer and those in a weak labor market position. Jyväskylä, Äänekoski, Laukaa and Muurame form the municipal experimental area for employment in the Jyväskylä region. When the trials started in March 2021, self-coaches started their work in municipalities by updating clients' job search plans. Directing customers to the services took more time than usual when the experiments started because of the employment plan debt. Employment plans have been updated particularly well in Äänekoski and Laukaa. During the year, contacts between job seekers and self-coaches have increased significantly, and contacts have moved more and more to face-to-face service.
Among the Jyväskylä region's municipal pilot schools, Äänekoski has had a particularly high activation rate
Nationally, compared to other pilot municipalities, Central Finland's pilot municipalities fare well when comparing the activation rate of all customer groups. The activation rate has always been higher in 2021 than, for example, in the municipal experiment of Kuopio region, Oulu region and Lahti region. Among the municipalities in the Jyväskylä region, the activation rate has been particularly high in Äänekoski, where it was at its highest in October at 40,0%. In Muurame, the highest activation rate has been 36,3% and in Laukaa the highest activation rate has been 36,9%. At Äänekoski, the personal trainers have worked closely with their clients to find suitable services and improve their job search skills.
- At the moment, from a job seeker's point of view, there is a market of opportunities, because there are 1788 open jobs in the whole of Central Finland and 130 jobs in Äänekoski. In order to find a path to employment, you can also use services that promote employment, such as workforce training, coaching and various Rekry trainings, says the employment manager of the city of Äänekoski Riikka Hytönen.
Job seekers are interested in studying and updating their skills
Around 1 jobseekers started in 600 from the beginning of the municipal trial, during labor force training or independent study during the job search. For young people, immigrants and job seekers whose job search has taken longer, studying is a good option to update their skills or acquire additional training to improve employment opportunities. In the municipal trial, the personal support of the jobseeker's personal coach ensures that jobseekers find suitable training options and that studies or services lead them forward and shorten the duration of unemployment.
In the Jyväskylä region, in addition to the municipal exam, the OsaajaKS service chain, whose experts offer study guidance to municipal exam clients, solves the problem of meeting the working life.
The unemployment rate has decreased from a year ago, especially in Äänekoski
There are currently a total of approximately 7 unemployed job seekers in all of Central Finland's experimental municipalities. At the end of March 900, there were 2021 unemployed job seekers.
Among the municipalities in the Jyväskylä region, the unemployment rate has fallen, especially in Äänekoski, by 5,2 percentage points from a year ago. However, the unemployment rate in Jyväskylä has not quite returned to the pre-coronavirus level. Small municipalities have mostly survived the effects of the corona period better than large municipalities.
In total, an estimated 18 different customers have done business in the Jyväskylä region's municipal experiment during 000. The number does not include persons who have been job seekers for a very short time.
Before the start of the municipal experiment, the TE office's expert may have had up to around 400 customers. Self-coaches have felt that the municipal experiment has given them time to familiarize themselves with the client's goals and wishes regarding the job search.
For more information:
Employment Manager Riikka Hytonen, 040 194 6100, riikka.hytonen@aanekoski.fi
News published 18.2.2022, modified 8.10.2024/09/57 at XNUMX:XNUMX