University graduates gravitate toward Helsinki region
Jobs in arts, law, and commerce mostly in south of Finland
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Academic professionals trained at Finnish universities tend to eventually take jobs in the Uusimaa region in the south of Finland and other growth centres around the country.
More than 40 per cent of those who completed their school matriculation examinations between 2000 and 2003 settled in the Helsinki region.
The trend to settle in the south of Finland appears to be especially strong in the fields of the arts, the law, as well as commerce and administration.
Of those who have attended institutions of higher education in the Uusimaa region, 80 per cent have found work in the Helsinki area. Graduates of the Helsinki School of Economics appear to be especially prone to staying in the nearby area.
As for other institutions, 44 per cent of graduates of the University of Vaasa end up working in the Helsinki region.
However, Professor Hannu Katajamäki of the University of Vaasa, notes that the most recent figures from Statistics Finland on the matter date back several years. "Development in the demand for labour has been very positive in the Vaasa region in recent years, because of Wärtsilä, for instance.
The proportion of graduates leaving for the Helsinki region was 25 per cent at universities in the Turku Region - the University of Turku, the Turku School of Economics, and the Swedish-language Åbo Akademi. In the Tampere region, at the University of Tampere and the Tampere University of Technology, it was 24 per cent. At the University of Jyväskylä, and the universities of Kuopio and Joensuu, and at the Lappeenranta University of Technology, 22 per cent of graduates gravitate toward Helsinki. In the north of Finland, at the University of Oulu, and the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, the figure is just 14 per cent.
New students at the various universities vary considerably in regional distribution, according to how many of them are from the region where the university itself is located.
An average 70 per cent of the new students at universities in the Helsinki region come from the Uusimaa region.
The University of Jyväskylä, meanwhile, took students from different parts of Finland fairly evenly.
"One of the roles of a university is to prevent an area from stagnating, and students coming from other areas have their own role in this", notes Professor Markku Sotarauta of the Regional Development research unit of the University of Tampere.
Sotarauta feels that universities should not be examined exclusively from the point of view of regional self-sufficiency. "Universities are hubs of national and international networks."
He says that universities should specialise and be strong in some specific area, which would increase mobility and strengthen regions as well. Sotarauta points out that Finns are generally reluctant to move much. "It is good for young people to see something other than the area around their homes."
Sotarauta understands the lure of the Helsinki region for those who have recently graduated, noting that there is a broader range of work available.
Although universities have an important role in the development of regions, they do not automatically create business or jobs, the professor notes. "A region’s business life and universities should support each other and develop together. A good example of this is the Tampere University of Technology."
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 15.1.2007 - TODAY |
 University graduates gravitate toward Helsinki region |
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