Finland - Jyvaskyla Region - Final Self-Evaluation Report.pdf

Employment and Economic Development Centre of Central Finland (TE-Centre)Role of the organizationThe Employment and Economic Development Centre of Central Finland is regional service centre of thegovernment, which operates under three ministries (The Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry ofAgriculture and Forestry, and the Ministry of Labour). It provides advisory and development services, aswell as education and funding for different kinds of operators. The TE-Centre is also the largest specialistand contributor of EU funding in the region. Its operation is channelled through three departments: theBusiness Department, the Labour Market Department, and the Rural Department. The Business Departmentis further divided into the technology unit (Tekes), enterprise funding unit, development unit and a smallinternational unit.The Employment and Economic Development Centre co-operates closely with regional developmentcompanies. Because the activities of the TE-Centre are nationally directed, it is not strongly committed toregional strategies.Role of the HEIsThe University of Jyväskylä co-operates mainly with the Business Department, whereas most of theJyväskylä Polytechnic’s contacts are with the Rural Department. Co-operation with the HEIs is mainly basedon funding. The exploitation of the HEIs’ expertise is not systematically organized.Weak spots and areas to develop in the co-operation with the HEIsAccording to the view of the Employment and Economic Development Centre the biggest obstacle for cooperationis the lack of knowledge about the expertise and functions provided by the HEIs. More activeinteraction between the operators would allow increasing the knowledge about the operation of each others.It would also be important to find the right channels for finding the right kind of expertise from HEIs, whicha problem with the university in particular.Co-operation with HEIs could be increased through practical training of students, for example (joint projectswith enterprises, graduation theses). Considering this, it would be important to develop the competence ofthe staff of the HEIs to act as instructors for students’ in co-operation with the working life. According to theexperiences of the TE-Centre the guidance of students and sharing of responsibilities has sometimes beeninsufficient. Systematic participation of the HEIs (especially the polytechnic) in strategy work is seen as apotential area of co-operation in the future, whereas the technological know-how of the university (e.g., IT,nanotechnology) could be better utilized.Organizations promoting entrepreneurship in Central FinlandRole of the organizationThere are two organizations for entrepreneurs in the region: The Central Finland Chamber of Commerce andthe Entrepreneurs of Central Finland. The task of the organizations is the supervision of the entrepreneurs’interests in the region and creating a favourable operational environment for competitive business.The Central Finland Chamber of Commerce together with the 20 other Finnish Chambers of Commercepromote the business environment and competitive position of Finnish companies both in Finland and in theEuropean Community. They provide, e.g., training, up-to-date information on economic management, legaladvice, tax counselling, as well as export documents. The number of member firms of the Central FinlandChamber of commerce is approximately 520 representing various fields and branches of trade and industrywith more than 32 000 employees in total.The Federation of Finnish Enterprises with 21 regional organizations is the largest central businessorganization in Finland Out of all the interests of small- and medium sized enterprises are covered mostextensively. Training, information and advisory services in regional policy are offered for member firms.The organizations emphasize the importance of entrepreneurship and well-being in the strategic goal settingof the province. The main co-operation partners are the Regional Council of Central Finland and theadministrative authorities of municipalities.142