Page 64 - BROCHURE-EUROGUIDANCE

Courses in Finland are not taxed unless they earn more than 510€ per month.
Finland has slightly lower rates of unemployment, at 10%. The most
active sectors are those of health, social, services and trade; industry has
experienced a sharp slowdown in recent years.
Other sectors of dynamic activity include telephones, architecture and design,
video games, shipbuilding, the wood and paper industry and the nuclear and
mechanical industries.
Name and legal framework
Work-based learning period (secondary education)
« Työharjoittelu », « practical training », « work placement » (graduate studies)
In secondary education, the course is an integral part of the vocational training
programme. It allows the evaluation of at least 30 skills.
It is the school which is responsible for the course contract, which indicates the
practical elements (timetables, compensation where appropriate, course duration,
security, etc) as well as the course's educational objectives and the skills to be
acquired.
In the universities of applied sciences, the practice of taking courses is well known
and allows the acquisition of 30 to 120 ECTS, depending on the curriculum.
International courses are held mainly in the context of bilateral agreements or
exchange programmes (IAESTE, Erasmus+, etc). Finding a course by making an
individual approach is quite difficult.
Courses normally take place in the summer. Their duration is from one to eighteen
months.
Administrative formalities Apply to a student exchange organization or to its institution on the site:
A labour contract must be signed with the employer at the beginning of the course
to define its conditions: total duration, number of working hours per day and per
week, tasks to be performed, remuneration, etc
In Finland, the Act authorises contracts of work to be signed from 15 years of age
upwards.
Working hours are normally eight hours per day for a forty-hour week.
Compensation: courses do not always receive remuneration.
Taxes:students taking courses in Finland must go to the taxation office to obtain a
‘Taxcard’ to be given to the employer:
www.vero.fi/en-US
Trainees who remain in the country for more than six months pay tax on their
income, as do all Finnish people. They may also be required to contribute to the
Social Security fund.
Those who remain for less than six months are considered Tax non-resident and
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Information on the taxation in Finland:
www.vero.fi/en-US/Taxation of students and trainees in international situations.
Practical life
Cost of living: it costs between 700 and 900 € per month for a student to live
comfortably in Finland, but this amount depends on the city of residence.
Accommodation: the rental market is fairly large, and renting a flat is possible.
An indispensable site for information on all types of accommodation in Finland:
www.infopankki.fi in Finland/Housing.
To rent accommodation, share a room or find lodgings:
housinganywhere.com/fr, …
Tips on finding a course and useful sites
Useful information on the universities' Career Service websites.
A guide for foreign students who wish to work in Finland:
www.helsinki.fi/urapalvelut/materiaalit/workinginfinland.pdf (pages 18 and 19).
CV and covering letter
Tips for writing CVs and covering letters: www.infopankki.fi in Finland/work and
enterprise and www.te-services.fi a job.
Some ways of finding a course
www.studyinfinland.fi/study_options/other_possitilities/training
www.aarresaari.net : internship offers from university integration services
Finding useful general or economic information
o The French Community in Finland website: www.ranska.net
o The Franco-Finnish Chamber of Commerce: www.ccff.fr
o The Economic Mission website: www.tresor.economie.gouv.fr/pays/finlande
o The ‘This is Finland” website, available in several languages including
French: finland.fi/fr
Business directories
o www.finlandexports.com Finnish export businesses
o www.contactfinland.fi a complete website of Finnish business
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