Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK is heading into the municipal and county elections with seven main goals. TEK wants municipalities and wellbeing services counties to build a more solid foundation for expertise, to step up on climate change and to use artificial intelligence more efficiently.
In addition, TEK calls on municipalities to take care of international experts, improve student housing and increase their vitality. Among the goals, the easing of procurement criteria concerns both municipalities and wellbeing services counties.
Why has TEK chosen these particular goals, TEK’s Director of Public Affairs Juhani Nokela?
“TEK’s goals focus particularly on issues that are at the forefront of TEK’s other advocacy work as well. These are themes that our members are working with or that are otherwise related to the vitality of Finland as a whole.”
How were these goals set?
“Our goals are prepared by experts in different fields at our office, who also engage in extensive discussions with other parties. We discuss the draft with our trustees and gather suggestions for improvement and development from them. The final decision on the goals is made by TEK’s board.”
How will TEK ensure that the goals are achieved in practice?
“We will communicate the goals to the representatives of the parties. However, local situations across municipalities and counties vary greatly. We therefore hope that especially candidates who are members of TEK will be elected in these elections. We will keep them informed about the common views of the profession, which they can promote locally as they see fit.”
“TEK exerts less influence at the municipal level and focuses more on the national level. However, with the transfer of responsibility for organising employment services to the municipalities, it is inevitable that these issues will be discussed, particularly with the cities where the majority of TEK members live.”
In the last municipal elections, TEK had four theses. TEK wanted municipalities to spend more on the wellbeing of children and young people, to make Finland carbon neutral by 2035, to digitalise their services and to ensure sustainable procurement.
How were these theses achieved?
“We do not have detailed monitoring on them. It is worth noting that after the elections, the entire municipal landscape was transformed, with the creation of wellbeing services counties and the transfer of responsibility for health and social services and fire and rescue services away from municipalities. In this respect, it seems that although progress has been made in areas such as digitalisation, a significant part of the local development effort was more focused on the administrative reform than anything else.”
TEK’s municipal election goals are grouped under seven headings. All the goals are published with the heading first, followed by the goal in one sentence, three key points, and (a slightly shortened) explanatory section. Full versions are available at www.tek.fi/elections2025.
1 Foundation for expertise is built through education
Investments in learning create a solid foundation for expertise.
- Measures aimed at improving learning outcomes support both low-achieving and high-achieving pupils.
- Educational institutions should explore opportunities for collaboration to enhance operations.
- Municipalities should provide adequate continuing education for the staff of the municipal education department.
2 Municipalities play a key role in climate work
The climate work of municipalities must be in line with Finland’s 2035 carbon neutrality target.
- Municipalities should prepare climate plans that also cover adaptation to climate change.
- Municipalities should have steps in place towards non-combustion-based heat production at least in the long term.
- Municipalities should promote emission reductions in transport by promoting electric vehicle charging infrastructure and through procurement.
3 Artificial intelligence and digitalisation
AI can be an effective medicine for making the public sector more efficient.
- The data generated by municipalities and wellbeing services counties in their operations must be utilised significantly more than it is now.
- More training must be provided for employees in the use of AI tools and procurement.
- Suitable AI tools must be developed for municipalities and wellbeing services counties.
4 Procurement
Dividing procurement into smaller parts and including a focus on innovation to improve the opportunities of micro-enterprises and SMEs
- Municipalities should split their procurement into sufficiently small parts to allow entities of all sizes to participate in competitive tenders.
- Include innovation as a criterion in procurement to promote market development and the introduction of innovations
- Improve the procurement skills of municipalities, particularly with regard to sustainable solutions
5 Cities must adapt to the 3-/6-month rule in their support for international experts
Unemployment, integration and language services must be available quickly, and suit well also internationals with higher education degrees.
- Provide high-quality employment and integration services, including access to daycare and education, also to highly educated internationals and their families.
- Protect vulnerable international experts against exploitation with improved education and safeguarding measures.
- Ensure a diverse range of language classes are available for those in full-time employment, with incentives for companies that aid in integration.
6 Investing in students is an investment in a vital municipality
High-quality and adequate student housing is a pull factor for both Finnish and international students.
- Municipalities should plan sufficient student housing plots near university campuses and key services, with access to public transport links.
- The construction of student housing should be enhanced by easing unnecessarily detailed regulations in planning, for example by reducing the parking norm.
- Municipalities should promote the provision of furnished housing for international students in cooperation with universities and student housing providers.
7 Vitality and ecosystems
Increasing the vitality of municipalities through expertise, community and accessibility
- Promoting cooperation opportunities between local higher education institutions and businesses.
- Employment services that have been transferred to municipalities must also support the employment of highly educated local residents.
- Smooth transport links within and between regions improve the accessibility of services and promote employment opportunities.