Over half of highly educated immigrants find jobs through Espoo City-Aalto University service
An effective service by City of Espoo and Aalto University is helping highly educated immigrants break into their fields. Through human-centred design, KOSKE service has turned employment challenges into success stories, boosting the local economy.
More than half (52%) of highly educated immigrants who used the employment service developed by the City of Espoo and Aalto University have found work in their own field, Aalto University reports. Highly educated immigrants are among the most difficult groups to employ, both in Finland and globally. The service proved effective even last year, when the employment situation in the Helsinki metropolitan area was particularly challenging.
Launched in 2021, the Competence Centre for Highly Educated Immigrants (KOSKE) is Finland’s first municipal employment service designed specifically for unemployed people with higher education degrees whose native language is not Finnish or Swedish. The strong employment results have been achieved through service design methods and a new model of collaboration, which have influenced not only the design, usability, and quality of the service, but also the city’s internal processes behind it.
Clients seen as resources, not costs
“In Finland, it’s often said that employment measures don’t work – and they won’t if they are designed around the system instead of people,” says service designer and doctoral researcher Annukka Svanda from Aalto University.
According to Svanda, public services should be built around residents’ real needs, not the limitations of existing systems.
“We must dare to ask what a person actually needs, rather than only considering what the system can provide. Our example shows that public service structures can be redesigned to be more human-centred while also becoming more productive and cost-efficient.”
While KOSKE itself is not radical – it supports clients in job seeking and career planning – what is more exceptional is how the City of Espoo has co-created the service with researchers, tackling root causes of unemployment head-on. Clients are treated as valuable resources rather than expenses, ensuring clear, respectful communication. For job seekers, this has meant personalised feedback, clarifying strengths and career goals, and receiving targeted support that has significantly improved job search outcomes.
An underused resource that boosts the economy
Highly educated immigrants are globally one of the hardest groups to employ, yet their skills and contributions remain an underutilised asset. The KOSKE model not only promotes social justice but also strengthens the local economy by enabling highly skilled professionals to enter the workforce efficiently.
“Highly educated immigrants who, despite their efforts, have not found work matching their skills in Finland are often deeply frustrated. They feel their expertise is neither recognised nor valued in the Finnish labour market,” says Espoo’s Director of Economic Development, Teemu Haapalehto.
