Career monitoring surveys launched – complete the survey to support students’ career planning and contribute to Tampere University’s funding

Recipients will be contacted via text message, post or email. The surveys are coordinated by  the Aarresaari Career Services Network of Finnish Universities.

For more than 20 years, the universities in Finland have conducted joint surveys to monitor graduate employment outcomes. These surveys provide comprehensive and comparable data on labour market trends and skills needs across sectors, supporting the development of teaching, student guidance and education.

Survey highlights graduate employment rates

The results of the 2025 career monitoring survey showed that employment rates among Tampere University graduates with a master’s degree remained above the national average. 

The employment rate among doctoral graduates was in line with the national average. Among respondents with a master’s degree, 74% were employed in permanent, full-time positions. For doctoral graduates, this figure was 51%. However, Finland’s changing labour market situation is reflected especially in the employment rate of our doctoral graduates: the proportion of doctoral graduates who completed their degree in 2022 and secured permanent full-time employment declined by 10 percentage points compared with the previous year. The survey also indicates a slight decline in the employment rate of MSc graduates. In addition, the number of graduates working in roles that do not correspond to their qualifications has increased.

According to the 2025 survey, MSc graduates rated their ability to learn and acquire new information, along with their analytical and systematic thinking skills, as their key strengths. Transferable skills, such as negotiation, supervisory and leadership skills, were identified as the areas most in need of further development.

“Tampere University provides graduates with a strong foundation for their careers. However, the evolving labour market trends and changing skills needs require us to pay ever closer attention to the competencies that graduates need. These changes also highlight the need to further develop the career monitoring survey,” says Senior Specialist Hanna-Leena Hietaranta-Luoma, who oversees the career monitoring survey at Tampere University.

One response may be worth thousands of euros

The career monitoring survey conducted among master’s degree graduates is directly linked to the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture’s funding model for universities. This means that each completed survey generates a tangible financial benefit for Tampere University.

On average, each completed survey is worth approximately €5,200. In 2027, survey responses will account for €5.1 million of the public funding allocated to Tampere University by the Ministry.

“Each response improves our understanding of graduate employment trends and supports Tampere University’s efforts to continuously develop its degree programmes to better meet the demands of working life,” says Hietaranta-Luoma.