Tutkimus

CEO of TEK Jari Jokinen: Are older workers hazardous waste or the most skilled employees?

The pay gap between men and women in the technology industry has hardly narrowed at all in more than a decade. This is shown by the 2023 Labour Market Survey conducted by the Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland TEK.

Non-binary people experience more sexual harrasment at work than men or women. Highly educated professionals who belong to sexual or gender minorities experience more harassment and are also less confident that their employer would address harassment, reveals a survey conducted among Akava affiliates.

The societal debate on immigration is a major source of concern for international experts in the field of technology, with as many as 89% of them find the immigration debate worrying. Only 52% of the international tech experts surveyed would recommend Finland as a place to live and work.

The number of graduating academic engineers and architects was 19 per cent higher last year than in 2022. A tech degree carries significant weight – four out of five graduates had a job at the time of graduation and the median monthly salary was 3,600 euros.

How easily do academic engineers and architects graduating from different fields of study find jobs? Are there major differences between different fields in terms of pay or the satisfaction with studies? TEK studied these questions.

Under the Working Hours Act, regular working hours shall not exceed eight hours a day or 40 hours a week. Overtime is defined as work that exceeds these maximum limits.

Parents with young children are familiar with the parental leave reform, and they feel that it contributes to a more even distribution of family leave between parents. Those working in the field of technology feel that the employers’ attitudes are supportive of families, and that the use of family leave is mostly welcomed in the workplace. For example, more than 90% of parents of children under school age think that their employer offers sufficient support for reconciling work and family life. On the other hand, there is a fair amount of uncertainty around family leave, and some parents with young children feel that the use of family leave may pose a threat to their career development.

According to TEK’s labour market survey, the earnings of TEK entrepreneur members increased. The average income for full-time entrepreneurs rose by over 10%, and even part-time entrepreneurs saw a 9% increase.