Youth
Here you find information about education, how to get support in job search and how to find free time activities. We count you as youth from the age of 13 and up to the age of 29. That is a wide age span, when a lot of things happens in ones life.
Swedish preparatory education
Preparatory education is available for children and young people of immigrant backgrounds aged 6–17 years whose Swedish or Finnish language skills are not adequate to study in Swedish or Finnish speaking groups in comprehensive education. Every pupil receives their own education plan and most of the time they are in the same class as their classmates. Preparatory education is offered for a maximum of one year.
Here you will get more information on how to enroll into the Swedish preparatory education in Helsinki
If you want to get more information on preparatory education in Espoo, please contact Svenska bildningstjänster
For more information about the Swedish schools in Vantaa please phone 040 631 8731
For Grankulla/Kauniainen you can contact the headmaster, rektor in Swedish, from the Swedish school, Hagelstamska skolan.
Secondary education
Secondary education, also called high school, junior high and intermediate school, typically takes place after six years of primary school, or folk school. Like primary education, in most countries secondary education is compulsory, at least until the age of 16.
Helsingfors
The Swedish schools in Helsingfors/Helsinki are divided in four main districts. Within each district there is one school for pupils in classes 6th or 7th – 9th grade. To find out the school that the children in your area belongs to you could visit the servicemap and type in your home address.
Esbo
In Esbo/Espoo you have three Swedish schools grade 7 – 9. Here you will find more information about the Swedish schools in Esbo.
Vanda
In Vanda/Vantaa there is one Swedish school for the grades 7 – 9, Helsinge skola.
Grankulla
In Grankulla/Kauniainen there is one Swedish comprehensive school, Hagelstamska skolan.
Upper secondary education
After comprehensive education you can continue your educational path either in an upper secondary school or in a vocational school. Upper secondary education studies are more theoretical in nature than vocational education. Vocational education is sometimes referred to as career and technical education. You apply to these schools in the early spring. At Studyinfo you will find more information.
Upper secondary schools
In Helsingfors/Helsinki there are three Swedish General upper secondary schools Brändö gymnasium, Gymnasiet Lärkan and Tölö gymnasium.
Mattlidens gymnasium is the Swedish upper secondary school in Esbo/Espoo. In Mattliden you can also study through the IB-program.
In Vanda/Vantaa the Swedish upper secondary school is called Helsinge gymnasium and in Grankulla/Kauniainen the school is called Grankulla gymnasium.
Vocational schools
If you are not sure what you want to become you can apply for a one-year Valma education. During the VALMA year you strengthen your study skills, improve your Swedish and try out different educations.
There are three Swedish vocational schools in Uusimaa. Prakticum, in Helsingfors and Borgå, Axxell, in Esbo, Karis and Raseborg, and Folkhälsan in Esbo. Prakticum and Axxell also offers programmes specifically for students who need more support with language learning.
Job search
Assistance in job search
UngInfo and Luckan Integration arranges a CV workshop once a month, on Wednesdays between 15-17. It is in Swedish and English and free of charge.
Navigatorn (Ohjaamo) Helsinki is a place for every 15- to 29-year-old. Riika from Luckan UngInfo gives guidance in job search and work safety in Swedish on Mondays between 12-17. If you, for example, feel like talking to a caring adult, discussing your career or receiving guidance in the Finnish welfare system, come to Navigatorn Helsinki.
Luckan provides two different counseling services; UngInfos and Luckan Integrations counseling services. They both gives you support and information in job search, summer job voucher and work safety . You can either book a time, for UngInfo you send an e-mail to and for Luckan Integrations counseling you book a time here. Or come to Luckan Helsingfors when they have drop-in time. UngInfo has on Wednesdays between 15-17 and Luckan Integration on Mondays through Thursdays between 15-16.
Summer job
Summer job voucher
The Summer job voucher allows an employer to hire a young person for the summer. The terms for the summer vouchers vary in the different municipalities so read more about Helsingfors, Esbo, Vanda och Grankullas terms here or contact a counselor service mentioned above for help.
Job search
There is a demand for Swedish speaking people in daycare, schools and in health care. Here you will find the biggest employers for Swedish speakers.
On the recruitment-page you have to choose Swedish, Ruotsi, as the language of choice, Ilmoituksen kieli, to find the Swedish jobs offered.
Seure (temporary work) is the municipalities staffing service. The page is in Swedish since the English version doesn’t work.
Kårkulla Samkommun. It’s purpose is to provide service and care for intellectually disabled Swedish-speaking persons in Finland.
Folkhälsan. Folkhälsan is the largest Swedish-speaking social services and healthcare organisation in Finland. Folkhälsan provides services within the field of social services and healthcare, for example, care for the elderly and child protection services. They also have a research center.
At Barnavårdsföreningen you will find jobs where you work with children and families.
At Kommuntorget you will find Swedish speaking welfare and health care jobs from all over Finland.
TE-services (search word: svenska)
Oikotie työpaikat (search word: svenska)
Manpower also have jobs in Swedish.
It is possible to register a company either in Finnish or Swedish and handle all the bureaucracy in Swedish. At InfoFinland you will find information how to start a company in Finland.
There is an interest and service organization for Finnish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their owners called Suomen Yrittäjät. They arrange events and have different services for their members.
If you don’t have a study place or job
Youth service provider Sveps assists persons aged 16-28 years that are currently not in school or has a job. The assist can concern finding a study place, a job or just getting motivation of moving on with life. The service is in Swedish, free of charge and has a low-threshold.
Navigatorn (Ohjaamo) Helsinki is a place for every 15- to 29-year-old. Riika from Luckan UngInfo gives guidance in Swedish on Mondays between 12-17. If you, for example, feel like talking to a caring adult, discussing your career or receiving guidance in the Finnish welfare system, come to Navigatorn Helsinki.
Luckan provides two different counseling services; UngInfos and Luckan Integrations counseling services. They both gives you support and information in the area that you need. You can either book a time, for UngInfo you send an e-mail to and for Luckan Integrations counseling you book a time here, or come to Luckan Helsingfors when they have drop-in time. UngInfo has on Wednesdays between 15-17 and Luckan Integration on Mondays through Thursdays between 15-16.
There is a Navigator in Vanda as well, and it works in the same way as in Helsinki, in Esbo it is called Startpunkten.
Leisure time activities
Kulturforum is an event calendar where you find Swedish activities in many parts of Finland. The webpage is only in Swedish.
Nordisk Kulturkontakt is a Nordic culture center in Helsinki with its own Nordic events.
Helsingfors Stad/City of Helsinki arranges Swedish speaking events at its culture houses and libraries. Write Svenska in the search box.
The libraries has cultural events for all ages. Write Svenskspråkiga or Swedish in the search box.Follow different Event Calendars to find out what is going on in the Capital Region.
Events at Luckan are found on Facebook.
News in Swedish aimed at youth in Helsinki.
Young people’s Helsinki, in English.
In the Capital Region there are a few Swedish youth centres, They offer diverse activities, opportunities to meet friends, courses, clubs, excursions and events – or you can just hang out. You can get assistance, information and support when you are faced with challenges. All youth centre activities are drug and alcohol free.
In Helsingfors Drumsö Youth Center has different activities different days of the week. Follow them on Instagram to keep yourself updated.
The youth centre in Sandels in Tölö is a house filled with happenings. It is open on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays from 12-20 and on Thursdays from 12-17.
Rastis, in Nordsjö, is open Wednesday between 17-21, Fridays between 17-22:30 and every second Saturday (19.1, 2.2, 16.2, 2.3, 16.3, 30.3, 13.4, 27.4, 11.5 &25.5) between 16-22:30. They are also active on Instagram.
In Esbo the Swedish youth centre is situated in Sökö. It is open Wednesdays 17-20, Thursdays 14-21, Fridays 13:30-22 and Saturdays, even weeks, between 16-22. Their Instagram is also on fire.
In Vanda there are two Swedish youth centres, in Helsinggård and Mårtensdal. Helsinggård is open on Fridays from 18 and Mårtensdal on Thursdays between 17:30-21.
The youth centre Grani klubben in Grankulla is situated in the library. It is open Monday-Thursday 15-20.
The Theater school DOT offers Swedish drama pedagogy for persons aged 13 – 16 years at Luckan. Visit their website for more information.
Gymnastics
Helsingfors IFK offers also a lot of opportunities for people interested in a broad spectrum of athletics. They usually practice at Liikuntamylly in Kvarnbäcken (Myllypuro), and from April to September also at Djurgården (Eläinpuisto), both in Helsingfors.
Football, soccer
Helsingfors IFK (HIFK) has over 540 children, from the age of 4 and up, practicing football with them. HIFK offers practice for boys and girls. Fill in HIFK’s application form at their website, and they will be in touch with you.
In Helsinki you can find 14 Swedish corps. From this website you can find the corp that is suitable for you and their contact details.
In Grankulla you find Grankulla Scoutkår and in Vanda Scoutkåren Nybyggarna.
Esbo has four corps:
- Södrik Stigfinnare in Esbo Center
- Sea Scouts, Sjöscoutkåren Stormfågeln at Nokkala Udd
- Scoutkåren Tre Björkar in Dalsvik
- Scoutkåren MuHö in Olars
All information is in Swedish. Please contact the association for assistance!
AV i Sörnäs is an association that organizes a bridge-club, dance-club, has an Art circle, baby café, yoga, meditation, capoeira, Sami club.
Norr om Stan rf. organizes cultural events and free-time activities in the north of Helsinki and Vantaa area.
Svenska.fi is an association for immigrants who have integrated in Swedish. Their events are published on Facebook.
Folkhälsan is a versatile, modern non-profit organization operating in the field of social and health services. Here you find their activity for youth.
Swedish speaking associations in Espoo are gathered in this pdf.
Associations in Kauniainen: Kultur/Culture, Kvinno/Womens, Kyrko/Church, Motor/Motor, Pensionärs/Pensionist, Politiska/Political, Stöd/Support, Övriga/Other
Associations in Vantaa can be found in this brochure from page 38, under the headline Föreningar. In the brochure you also find information about other Swedish services.
Health
Luckan UngInfo offers free guidance for those who are 13-29 years old, in matters of study, work, leisure et cetera. The tutorial can be done face to face, we have drop-in on Wednesdays between 15-17 at Luckan Helsingfors or book a time via e-mail, . Unga Info also has a chat service. Most of their activities are online and all of them free of charge.
Are you experiencing a crisis? Do you need someone to talk to? Then youth counseling can fit you. It is a free of charge and confidential counseling service. You can visit, call or e-mail them with your thoughts.
Navigatorn (Ohjaamo) is aimed at people under 30. There you will get information, advice and guidance in areas like education, employment and wellbeing. On Mondays between 12-17 Riikka, from Luckan, assists you in Swedish.
Helsinki offers free-of-charge contraception for those under the age of 25.
Espoo offers free-of-charge contraception for those under the age of 25.
Vanda offers free-of-charge contraception for those under the age of 20.
Grankulla offers free-of-charge contraception for those under the age of 21.
