Summer jobs

Every year, plenty of summer jobs are available for young people aged both under and over 18 years, and also for qualified adults.

The earlier you start looking, the better chances you have of getting a summer job. This page contains information about looking for a summer job in Finland.

How old do you have to be to get a summer job?

Special provisions that protect younger workers apply to employees aged under 18.

• A job can be offered to a person aged 15 or over who has completed their mandatory education.
• A young person who will turn 14 during the calendar year in question can do light work that does not have negative effects on their health, development or school attendance for at most one half of their holiday period.

How can you find a summer job?

For summer jobs that you can apply for, visit the Vacancies (Avoimet työpaikat) service:
Vacancies (in Finnish and Swedish)

• On the search page, select a municipality or a province.
• In the job duration section, tick the box for "Kesätyö" (Summer job).
• You can also subscribe to job information that is sent to your e-mail address by clicking on the Vahti (vacancy watch service) button.

You can also find out about summer jobs

• in newspapers
• from family members and acquaintances
• by contacting employers directly

In the spring, the TE Offices organise recruitment events for summer workers in various municipalities. Advertisement for these can often be found at TE services'

Tapahtumia section (in Finnish)

You can also find a summer job for a short period through the summer work practice programme

Tutustu työelämään ja tienaa in Finnish (kunkoululoppuu.fi).

Summer jobs with municipalities and parishes

Cities, municipalities and parishes traditionally offer many summer jobs, for example in

• management of sports facilities  
• maintenance and cleaning of parks, graveyards and offices
• catering and in the social and health care sector
• tourism services and tourist information.

See the municipalities' websites for information about summer jobs offered by them. For information about jobs provided by parishes, see their websites or ads in papers, or contact them directly.

Fill in your online application carefully

If you apply for a summer job by filling in an electronic application at an employer's website,  note that the employer often shortlists the candidates based on these forms.  For this reason, you should fill in and compose your information in the application form carefully - and the same applies to all other written summer job applications.

Terms of employment and a contract also belong to a summer job

The employer must take into account occupational safety and health issues and terms of employment, including working hours and pay, also when providing a summer job.

Before you start in your summer job, you should have a written employment contract that specifies such details as your

• pay and working hours
• main duties
• duration of the employment relationship and the reason for its fixed-term nature
• the collective agreement to be applied
• determination of annual leave days.

Additional information about work contracts on 

the Summer worker's checklist in Finnish (kesaduunari.fi)