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At Espoo’s Competence Centre for Highly Educated Immigrants (KOSKE), 52% of clients have found work in their own field — a remarkable figure for a group considered one of the most difficult to employ, even internationally.

Even in 2024, when the employment situation in the Helsinki metropolitan area was particularly challenging, KOSKE’s career counsellors and business coordinators supported around 500 unemployed, highly educated immigrants living in Espoo — and 196 of them successfully entered employment.

Launched in 2021, KOSKE is the first municipal employment service in Finland specifically designed for unemployed individuals with higher education qualifications whose first language is neither Finnish nor Swedish.

These exceptional employment outcomes are the result of bold and open-minded collaboration, in which design research from Aalto University has played a key role. Design has influenced not only the service’s structure, usability, and quality, but also the internal processes behind it. The reform of Espoo’s employment services has led to significantly improved results — both financially and in terms of individual wellbeing — compared to previous models.

'In Finland, people often say that employment services don’t work — and they don’t, if they are designed around systems rather than people,' says Annukka Svanda, a service designer and doctoral researcher at Aalto University.

According to Svanda, public services should be built around the real needs of residents — not the constraints of existing systems.

'We need to have the courage to ask what a person really needs, rather than simply considering what the system can offer. Our example proves that public service structures can be redesigned to be more human-centred — while also becoming more productive and cost-effective.'

Clients are seen as resources, not costs

Svanda points out that while KOSKE is an excellent service, it is not radically different in concept — it helps clients with job-seeking and career planning.

'What’s exceptional is how the City of Espoo has built the service in close cooperation with researchers. They’ve boldly sought to address the root causes of unemployment and find solutions — even when that has meant breaking through hidden, internal barriers,' Svanda explains.

She emphasises that success has come from treating clients as resources rather than costs, approaching their situations with empathy, and keeping service communication clear and respectful. For the job seeker, this has meant personal feedback and support in identifying strengths and clarifying career goals — both of which have had a strong impact on employment outcomes.

'All of this has been possible because the city has been an active part of the change. Espoo deserves recognition — it is setting an example for the public sector. I hope other municipalities will dare to try something similar. This kind of development creates better services for people and brings new taxpayers to local economies.'

Advancing social justice — and strengthening the local economy

Highly educated immigrants form one of the most difficult groups to employ globally — but their skills and contributions are an asset for any municipality. The model developed by Espoo and Aalto University not only promotes social justice — it also strengthens the city’s economy by accelerating the employment of skilled professionals.

'Highly educated immigrants who, despite their efforts, have been unable to find work matching their skills in Finland often feel deeply frustrated. They feel their expertise is neither recognised nor valued in the Finnish labour market,' says Teemu Haapalehto, Director of Economic Development at the City of Espoo.

According to Haapalehto, especially during the planning and start-up phases of the competence centre, collaboration with Aalto University’s Department of Design helped the city better understand the needs of different client groups. He believes that this serious effort to see things from the clients’ perspective is reflected in both the positive feedback from clients and the impressive results.

Research findings on KOSKE’s impact have reinforced the City of Espoo’s confidence in human-centred service design: municipal staff also find more meaning in their work when it meets real needs — and when there is less uncertainty about the service’s effectiveness.

The collaboration between Aalto University and the City of Espoo in design-driven development continues in the 'Kasvatuskumppanuus' ('Educational partnership') project, which aims to improve cooperation between schools and families to support children’s learning outcomes. The project runs until the end of 2026.

At the same time, Espoo’s City Board has decided to make the Competence Centre for Highly Educated Immigrants a permanent service. The centre was originally established as a fixed-term initiative running from 2021 to 2025.