About the service

Developed by the Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment (SECLE), the Skills Needs Compass ("Osaamistarvekompassi") is an online service that offers insights into the skill requirements in Finland's evolving job market. The service aims to proactively support the alignment of skills supply with labour market demands, contribute to the development of continuous learning services and promote knowledge-driven decision-making.

The beta version of the Skills Needs Compass was launched in December 2023, with development continuing until summer 2025.
 

The Skills Needs Compass features interactive Power BI reports and visualised statistical data, along with qualitative information and articles.

• Data on skills needs
• Statistics on labour market transitions between occupations and to and from employment, unemployment, study and economic inactivity
• Information about occupations, including descriptions of tasks, skills needs and key figures related to employees
• Statistics and forecasts on completed qualifications in vocational education and training (VET) and higher education
• Data on skills produced by education leading to a qualification
• Sectoral overviews of sectors facing labour shortages and labour market mismatches
• Analytical articles discussing data and themes related to skills, skills needs and skills anticipation
• Learning material to support the use of the service.
   

Skills data

• Comprises thousands of skills classified by occupation and organised into clusters of related skills
• Extracted with the help of AI from job postings, investment data, scientific publications and OpenAI’s large language model
• Regularly updated to reflect changes in the job market.
   

Skill clustering

The service introduces a novel method of grouping skills into clusters based on their co-occurrence in the data. The context of a skill can vary across occupations, linking it to different sets of related skills.

Skill clusters enable a more accurate representation of an individual's skillset and labour market position than job titles while effectively describing the needs of working life.
 

The service is primarily designed for education service providers, as well as those offering information, guidance and counselling services. Education providers can use the data to develop their service offerings in line with labour market demands, while career practitioners can support individuals in making informed decisions about learning and work.

Additionally, the data in the Skills Needs Compass is valuable for regional employment services, actors in regional anticipation, businesses and state administration.
 

The service aims to deliver timely data on evolving skills needs and provide resources for knowledge-driven decision-making, ultimately contributing to tackling the skills mismatch in Finland.

The Skills Needs Compass is part of SECLE’s statutory role in analysing workforce and skills needs in the labour market. Developing and maintaining the service is a key part of fulfilling this responsibility and promoting continuous learning and the competence development of the working-age population.

The Skills Needs Compass is funded by the European Union's Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).