Making the voice of young adults heard in discussions about work life — new project strengthens the work life skills of upper secondary school students

Finnish Institute of Occupational Health media release 18 August 2025

A year ago, a new type of upper secondary school started in Vallila, Helsinki. Teaching in the school focuses on professional skills and networks. At the Konepaja upper secondary school, students can put what they have learned into practice by working regularly with work life partners. The Finnish Institute of Occupational Health will join as a network partner this autumn.

"This collaboration offers the students a unique opportunity to get practically acquainted with work life and strengthen their own work life skills," says Project Manager Christa-Jemina Korhonen, Senior Specialist at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

As part of the partnership, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health is also launching the two-year “Skills for Working Life — Upper secondary students as researchers and jobseekers” research project. The study investigates what kind of support young adults need to develop into active participants in work life with high self-esteem.

High school students as active co-researchers

Work life appears to young adults as constantly changing and, in many ways, uncertain. Factors such as pressures created by social media increase this uncertainty in addition to changes in the labour market.

“Understanding the experiences of young adults is important in order for laying the foundation for developing research and coaching methods that support their smooth transition into work life,” says Vilja Levonius, Researcher at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

In the project, the young adults also participate in Taite coaching, a peer group method aimed at strengthening job-seeking skills and helping the participants identify their own strengths and how to deal with uncertainties related to work life. This is rare in studies aimed at young adults.

"In this project, we want young adults to be active co-researchers rather than study subjects: they collect and analyse data and use journals to reflect on work life. This approach highlights the expectations, concerns and aspirations that upper secondary school students have regarding work life and strengthens their agency in shaping the role of a job seeker," says Levonius.

New data to support young adults’ work life skills

One of the focus areas of the study is the impact that social media has on perceptions of work life.

The project critically examines the images that social media creates about work, well-being at work and career paths in collaboration with the young adults —  and explores the expectations and experiences that these images reflect regarding work life.

“In the past, little attention has been paid to the role and participation of young adults in knowledge production, but this project highlights their perspectives, which remain rarely heard in work-related research,” says Levonius.

The results of the survey will provide valuable information for educational institutions and teachers who want to develop education that prepares students for work life, as well as for decision-makers in the field of educational policy and work life stakeholders. At the same time, the project also provides young adults with practical tools for planning their future. For research and work life organisations, the results provide information on participatory operating models that can strengthen the work life skills and well-being of young adults.

Further information

• Christa-Jemina Korhonen, Senior Specialist, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, +358304743318, christa-jemina.korhonen@ttl.fi
• Vilja Levonius, Researcher, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, +358304742360, vilja.levonius@ttl.fi
• Miia Wikström, Research Scientist, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, +358304742164, miia.wikstrom@ttl.fi 
  
  

See also

• Project website: Skills for Working Life — Upper secondary students as researchers and jobseekers | Finnish Institute of Occupational Health