Pay-subsidised jobs at the City of Helsinki

In order to apply for pay-subsidised jobs at the City of Helsinki, you must be an unemployed jobseeker in Helsinki and you must be eligible for pay subsidy and you must also belong to one of the following target groups of the city's pay-subsidised work: 

• You have been unemployed for at least 24 months in the past 28 months or you have received labour market subsidy on the basis of unemployment for a minimum of 300 days.  

• You have been unemployed for at least 6 months, have completed a vocational qualification or a degree (no matriculation examination) and are under 25 years of age.  

• You have been unemployed for at least 12 months in the past 14 months and you meet at least one of the following criteria:

  • You have completed a vocational qualification or a degree (no matriculation examination) and are between 25 and 29 years of age.

  • You have partial work ability on the basis of a medical diagnosis relevant to the job in question.

  • You are an immigrant with a residence permit or with a registered stay.

• You are eligible for voluntary employment obligation work which refers to the city’s statutory obligation to offer work to unemployed jobseekers belonging to the target group. You are 57 years of age or older and you have used your maximum earnings-related or basic unemployment allowance days since you turned 57. 

The duration of the pay-subsidised employment relationships is 7 months at the City of Helsinki.

At least 3 years must have passed since your previous pay-subsidised work period at the city before you can be employed under the pay subsidy system again. This does not apply to persons covered by the employment obligation.

If you are not sure if you belong to one of the target groups, you can always consult your specialist. Your specialist will inform you if you belong to the employment obligation’s target group and will direct you to the city’s employment obligation service if you are interested. You can submit a contact request via the E-Services.

Read more about pay-subsidised work

• Pay-subsidised work at the city is, as a rule, full-time work in accordance with a collective agreement, with a duration of 7 months.
• In order to start at pay-subsidised job, you will always need the approval of the employment services. Therefore, discuss the matter with your specialist before applying for a pay-subsidised job.
• When you have been chosen for a pay-subsidised job, the employment services will prepare a pay subsidy application, which is processed in approximately two weeks. Once the application has been approved, you can sign an employment agreement, after which you can start working.

• The employment relationship includes a period of individual supervision of pay-subsidised work, provided by the Helsinki Vocational College and Helsinki Vocational Adult Institute. The aim is to develop your skills and improve your employment opportunities after the pay subsidy period. You can participate in the supervision throughout your employment relationship and for one month after your employment relationship has ended.
• If you want to develop your Finnish language skills during the pay subsidy period, you can participate in language courses during working hours. Finnish for Working Life courses are organised by Helsinki Finnish Adult Education Centre and Finnish as a Second Language (S2) courses by the Helsinki Vocational College and Helsinki Vocational Adult Institute.