The Vacant Job (Paikka auki) funding programme
Vacant Job is a funding programme organised by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The programme has been active from 2018 and continues for now. The aim of the programme is to improve the employability of people with poor employability by offering them jobs in social welfare and healthcare organisations. The grants are issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and administrated by the Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations, a standalone state-aid authority operating in connection with the Ministry.
Social welfare and healthcare organisations are eligible to apply for a grant that covers all the salary costs of a one-year fixed-term employment of an employee. Organisations can also apply for funding for the mentoring of the employee and their equipment.
The vacancies created by the programme can only be applied for by young adults under 30 with poor employability and people with partial work ability (without an age restriction).
The goals of the programme
The goals of the Vacant Job programme are to provide as many people with poor employability as possible with a fixed-term position in a social welfare or healthcare organisation and to improve their employability and prospects of securing a permanent position.
Vacant Job and Vacant Job II
During the term of the first Vacant Job programme, between 2014 and 2017, more than 800 young people were hired by social welfare and healthcare organisations. The results were encouraging enough to continue the programme from 2018 to 2022 and beyond, and to officially title it Vacant Job II. Through the programme, roughly about 200 young people and people with partial work ability are hired for a year by about 170 organisations.
The programme is coordinated by Nuorten Ystävät ry
The experiences provided by the first term of the programme were so inspiring that the programme was expanded in its second term. The Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations decided to outsource the coordination of the programme to Nuorten Ystävät ry. The aim of the coordination workgroup assembled by Nuorten Ystävät is to support the social welfare and healthcare organisations participating in the Vacant Job programme, the employees hired through the programme, increase awareness of the programme and provide new information.
Supported by Veikkaus
Veikkaus provides thousands of projects and organisations in Finland with over one billion euros of gaming revenue every year. Veikkaus supports the promotion of employment by approximately 16 million euros every year, for example. The Funding Centre for Social Welfare and Health Organisations allocates a portion of the funds provided by Veikkaus to coordinated programmes, such as the Vacant Job funding programme, that consist of several projects with the same goal.