TE Offices will be closed down, but services will continue

The responsibility for providing TE Services will change as of 1 January 2025 (Act on the Organisation of Employment Services 380/2023). After the change, the current TE Offices will be closed down, and the responsibility for providing the services will transfer to municipalities. As of 1 January 2025, the majority of the tasks of the current TE Offices and their personnel will be transferred to the employment authority of the municipal sector.

In South-Eastern Finland, employment services will be provided by the South Karelia employment area, the South Kymenlaakso employment area and the Kouvola employment area. In South Karelia and South Kymenlaakso, the services will be organised using the responsible municipality model, while the cities of Lappeenranta and Kotka will be responsible for producing the services. Kouvola will form its own area and be responsible for its own services.

What does this change mean for our clients?

The main objective of the TE2024 reform is to ensure that in the future, employment services, as part of municipalities’ free basic services, will promote the implementation of statutory rights and obligations. The aim of the reform is to further improve the matching of jobseekers and employers in the region. The objective of the reform is that the services needed by clients are close, and access to them and the use of the services are as easy as possible. Accessibility is also promoted by strengthening the digital services produced for the websites Job Market Finland (Tyomarkkinatori.fi) and Suomi.fi. As national service platforms, they also contribute to the promotion of equality.

Job Market Finland’s redesigned digital service package for personal clients will be introduced in stages, starting in autumn 2024. The use of the services will continue to be secure, although the layout will vary depending on the service used. Clients can continue to use Job Market Finland to manage their customership, browse vacancies, utilise the jobseeker profile service and learn about the working life and employment promotion. Digital service guidance will take care of the transfer to the Suomi.fi platform when forms maintained there, or authentication is required.

The website of the South-Eastern Finland TE Office will be closed down on 31 December 2024, at the same time as the nationally maintained website te-palvelut.fi will close. After the turn of the year, the users of the website are automatically directed to the Regional Pages of Job Market Finland, where they can use the municipality menu to find the right employment area and the employment services produced by it. Our social media accounts will also be closed by the end of 2024. In connection with this, we will provide more information about the communication channels in the employment areas as they become available.

The decisions on the service points for employment services in South-Eastern Finland have ensured the current level of availability for personal interaction and services in Lappeenranta, Imatra, Kouvola, Kotka and Hamina. In addition, each municipality is also obliged to provide guidance on employment services.

What should I do if I am a client of the TE Office at the turn of the year or immediately after it?

Personal clients are not required to take specific action related to the change, and, for example, employment plans agreed in 2024 that reach beyond the turn of the year will remain valid for 2025. We will inform our clients of the change in their responsible expert’s contact information and any possible changes in personnel as soon as possible before the change affecting the client relationship happens.

According to the Act on the Organisation of Employment Services, being eligible for an unemployment benefit will continue to require having a customnership with an employment authority. People can continue to register as clients in the current way, either by visiting the lobby service of the service point or by using the digital e-service via Job Market Finland. Employment service experts will guide the service process from there.

The services of corporate and employer clients may differ between employment areas, depending on how the services are placed in the employment promotion service package. The up-to-date information about the turn of the year will be published on the websites of the employment areas. In addition, our corporate and employer service experts can provide more support on the matter, if needed. Our employer clients can continue using the services, such as announcing a job vacancy, as normal by logging in to Job Market Finland.

With regard to immigrant work permit services, the tasks and the personnel managing them are transferred from the TE Offices to the Finnish Immigration Service (migri.fi). However, the employment areas will continue to offer a number of employment-related services to people who have moved to Finland from elsewhere, as the overall responsibility for promoting integration lies with municipalities. These services are announced on the websites of the employment areas.