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1. Policy/legal framework

2. Funding

3. Cooperation

Policy/legal framework

Currently, Finland does not have a specific strategy for youth work. The Youth Act (1285/2016) (Nuorisolaki, in Finnish), the Government Decree on Youth Work and Youth Policy (211/2017) (Valtioneuvoston asetus nuorisotyöstä ja -politiikasta, in Finnish) and the National Youth Work and Youth Policy Programme 2024–2027 (VANUPO) set out the guidelines for supporting youth work and related activities, including the key criteria for eligibility for state aid by national youth work centres of expertise. For more information, see YouthWiki/Finland 1.3 National Youth Strategy and YouthWiki/Finland 1.2 National youth law. 

It is also possible to recognise specific target groups that youth work in Finland aims to support. The Youth Act states that youth workshop activities are specifically targeted at the NEETs (Not in Employment, Education or Training) (Section 13 of the Act). The target group includes unemployed young people and adults without vocational or professional qualifications or work experience, career-changers, job-seekers with disabilities or a diminished ability to work, people recovering from substance abuse or mental health problems, long-term unemployed, people unable to work full time, and immigrants who need assistance in entering the Finnish labour market. 
 

Funding

The Ministry of Education and Culture annually allocates government funding to national youth organisations, municipal youth work, statutory bodies, and other actors doing youth work. This is the main source of public funding for youth organisations. The Ministry has additional appropriations for measures that address topical issues, such as young people's social empowerment, international projects, and new forms of youth work and youth culture. 

For example, the government finances youth work that fights against social exclusion. One of the most important ways to guarantee the activities and the position of youth work in Finland is through governmental appropriations for the youth field. For more information, see YouthWiki/Finland 1.7 Funding Youth Policy. 

In 2026, €71 million was allocated for youth work. The funding is allocated both for activities (general grants) and for investments (special grants). In order to receive support, the organisation must be eligible for government aid. Organisations must seek such validation from the Ministry, which evaluates the eligibility of applicants based on the criteria set in the Youth Act (1285/2016) (Nuorisolaki, in Finnish). See the Ministry of Education and Culture’s website, Central government funding for youth work, for more information about the national-level funding for youth work. More information about the current eligibility criteria can be found on the Ministry’s website ‘National youth organisations’ application for government aid eligibility 2027’ (Valtakunnallisten nuorisoalan järjestöjen valtionapukelpoisuushaku 2027, in Finnish).

Regarding EU funding, the EU’s youth programmes are estimated to be insufficiently utilised in Finnish youth work, although the number of applications has increased recently (see YouthWiki/Finland 10.8. Current debates and reforms).
 

Cooperation

The most important framework for cooperation amongst all youth work stakeholders is the National Youth Work and Youth Policy Programme 2024–2027 (VANUPO), which is a statutory, cross-sectoral programme adopted by the Finnish Government every four years. Since the end of 2017 there has also been a network of Youth Work Centres of Expertise established to support the implementation of the objectives set out in the programme by promoting competence, expertise, communications and networking in the youth sector in accordance with the Youth Act (1285/2016) (Nuorisolaki, in Finnish). For the years 2024–2027, there will be three Youth Work Centres of Expertise instead of the previous six. Read more in YouthWiki/Finland 1.4 Youth policy decision-making.

As outlined in VANUPO (2024–2027): 

• The cohesion of civil society is promoted through sports, cultural, and youth activities.
• The Youth Work Centres of Expertise’s activities strive to strengthen youth sector actors’ and youth workers’ skills related to youth wellbeing. 
• The Centres of Expertise also function as expert institutions providing research data to support knowledge-based decision-making in the youth work sector. The State Youth Council, together with the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, the Finnish National Agency for Education, and Statistics Finland, provides an important knowledge base for the development of youth work. 
   

Regional cooperation in the field of open youth work is organised by regional youth work coordinators. In the context of regional and municipal level youth work, the Finnish Supervisory Agency is a key national level actor that cooperates closely with municipalities and the third sector. See the Finnish Supervisory Agency’s subpage youth work for more information about their responsibilities.