Optimum – project information

The goal of the EU project Optimum is to improve employment and networking amongst the highly educated in Northern Finland. The project offers a range of services, including career coaching, working life lectures, webinars amd career know-how, for the most essential parts also in English. Optimum provides its seevices until the autumn of 2026.

The core of Optimum is based on different forms of short courses improving the target groups’ skills in job-seeking and networking. The coaching courses take place both on the internet and as for example career coaching sessions in Oulu – consisting of Curriculum Vitae workshops, job interview coaching sessions, workshops introducing social media as a professional job-searching and skill marketing tool, communication and networking lectures, and so forth.

The key parts of the content are also broadcast to the target group living in the more remote areas in Northern Finland as webinars, internet-based coaching sessions and such. The aim iss to increase the professional skills and know-how of the target group, as well as to make the participants skilled and effective in their proactive job seeking.

The target group consists mainly of Masters of Arts, engineers either with or without a university level degree, Masters of Economic Sciences and Bachelors of Business Administration, but also all others with a high degree education. The target group also includes university students and students in the Northern universities of applied sciences.

Optimum is run by PSOTTY ry, the support organization for independent employment of Northern Finland. PSOTTY ry is financed and governed by a variety of trade unions: Union of Professional Engineers in Finland (IL) including their Northern chapters , Union of Academic Engineers and Architects (TEK), The Trade Union of Education in Finland (OAJ), Union of Bachelors of Business (Tradenomit), The Finnish Association of Business School Graduates (Suomen Ekonomit), Akava Special Branches (AE), Social Science Professionals (YKA) and The Union of Professionals in Natural, Environmental and Forestry Sciences (Loimu). Under IL also Tietoala and the union’s northern chapters Oulun Insinöörit, Lapin Insinöörit, Länsi-Pohjan Insinöörit, Kainuun Insinöörit, Raahen Alueen Insinöörit, Kokkolan Seudun Insinöörit and Jokilaaksojen Insinöörit took part in Optimum’s funding.

The project is funded and in close co-operation also with the cities of Oulu, Rovaniemi, Kajaani, Kokkola, Raahe, and the municipalities of Kempele ja Liminka, as well as University of Oulu, University of Lapland, Northern universities of applied sciences Oamk, Lapin amk, Kajaanin amk and Centria, and other academies and learning institutes operating in Northern Finland. Optimum’s main funding comes for the EU.