Opening specialist positions to all with a suitable higher education degree and ensuring the functionality of employment services transferred to municipalities – those are some of the top goals of Professionals of Business and Technology in the upcoming municipal elections.

"Changing the eligibility requirements in the public sector has been a long-term goal for Professionals of Business and Technology" says Ville-Veikko Rantamaula, Director of Advocacy.

"Municipalities, wellbeing services counties and the state still have a large number of specialist positions for which a master's degree from a university of applied sciences is not eligible, even though there are no appropriate grounds for it.

The requirement for a master’s degree from a university is an unnecessary remnant of the past, especially in the fields of finance and administration.

"All positions, even the position of mayor, should be available to bachelors of business administration."

Municipalities define the recruitment criteria themselves

There are also positions in the education sector where Rantamaula considers the separation of higher education degrees to be unnecessary. The practice remains valid, mainly in the healthcare and social sectors.

"Social services, for example, deal with matters that require a permit and for which it is justified to require a specific university degree." 

Municipalities have extensive autonomy in Finland, and legislation allows them to decide on the eligibility conditions for most positions. Thus, councilors can also influence the grounds for recruitment.

"A municipality can largely draw up its own recruitment policy, and the council, after all, supervises the activities of the municipal government and the municipal manager or mayor. However, it would be a mistake for the municipality to exclude a group of applicants. It would be a good thing if all decision-makers had an understanding of these issues," Rantamaula says.

The terms of employment of employment service professionals must be safeguarded

At the turn of the year, employment and business services were transfered from the state to municipalities or employment areas formed by several municipalities. The aim was for municipalities to be able to pursue more efficient economic policies and for job-seekers to receive targeted local services.

"Municipal councilors now get to influence employment services for the first time. It is very important to ensure the motivation and competence of the professionals working there. There are also hundreds of BBAs among them," explains Special Advisor of public sector Harri Westerlund.

"Municipal councilors now get to influence employment services for the first time. It is very important to ensure the motivation and competence of the professionals working there."

The terms of employment have been based on the state's collective agreement for civil servants, and the old salary system will be in force until the end of June. Professionals of Business and Technology  is a member of the Negotiation Organization for Public Sector Professionals JUKO, which has negotiated with the municipal employer on how the terms of employment will be organized. They must correspond to the job description of specialists, although municipalities have a certain amount of discretion in this matter.

"Employment service specialists expect the municipality’s new salary system to be fair and equal. They are used to working in multiple locations and are effective in remote work.

The work locations of some specialists may change due to the formation of employment areas. In addition, the working time format must be resolved.

“The question is whether the state’s 7 hours and 15 minutes of working time will be retained or whether the general working time, i.e. 7 hours and 39 minutes, will be introduced,” says Westerlund.

Key election goals of Professionals of Business and Technology

A municipality or wellbeing services county must be fair, reforming, flexible and developing. This includes acting responsibly as an employer and a business policy that supports employment in municipalities. It is necessary 

• to recognize the same level of master’s degrees from universities of applied sciences and universities
• to cooperate and partner with universities of applied sciences
• to create opportunities for reconciling work and family and be an example of a family-friendly employer
• to enable location-independent work
• for the municipality to invest in employment services for higher educated people in particular

Text: Mikko Nikula. Translation: Delingua / LanguageWire. This article was published in Tradenomi-magazine 1/2025 (available only in Finnish).

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