Current issues in Finland

2 March 2015

www.liikennevirasto.fi• ToiminnanohjausJukka Hopeavuori 2

Minor organizational change at the Finnish Transport Agency (FTA)

● Partial rotation of FTA executives

● Small changes within a few departments and units

● Process began at the beginning of February and the new organization will come into effect in April.

2.3.2015

www.liikennevirasto.fi• ToiminnanohjausJukka Hopeavuori 3

FTA cooperates with education providers

● FTA has entered into cooperation agreement contracts with the main universities (Helsinki, Tampere, Lappeenranta, Oulu) providing traffic and construction courses.

● The same practice will be introduced at universities of applied sciences. At present, contracts with Turku, Tampere and Kouvola UAS.

● A new railway technology learning environmentwill be established in Kouvola.FTA invests 6 M€, Kouvola UAS organizesthe teaching. This environment will be thefirst introduction to all new railwaytechnology, also for teachers.

2.3.2015

Network Rail Walsall

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Competence development at the FTA and in the infrastructure sector

● Master plan on FTA’s and the whole infrastructure sector’s competence development nearly completed.

● FTA’s core competencies and the main ways to develop them

● Framework on basic, expert and top skills and also non-teaching ways to develop the required skills (learning by doing with senior experts, attending projects etc.)

● Networking on competence development is part of the plan

2.3.2015

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Centralization of administrative functions at ministerial level

● All government departments (12) must relocate their administrative employees to the Office of the Council of State as from today (1st March 2015)

● The different ministerial functions: document management, registry offices, archives, internal data systems, office services, security and customer services, translations, transport services, health care and competence development have all been concentrated to one unit.

● The aim is to provide better and more coherent in-house services in all ministries with fewer employees in the future

● Moreover, the different administrativedatasystems will be harmonized or replaced withshared systems

● No redundancies; everyone will remain employed by the state

● However, the job description may change

2.3.2015

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Tunnel from Helsinki to Tallinn on the drawing board

● In a preliminary study a railway tunnel from Helsinki to Tallinn is recommended, if the Rail Baltic (railway connection from Tallinn to Warsaw and further on to southern Europe) is realised.

● The study was commissioned by the cities of Helsinki and Tallinn and carried out by Sweco in Finland, Estonia and Sweden, Kohateam Oy and Finantsakadeemia OÜ. If everything goes according to plan, the tunnel will open after 2030.

2.3.2015

Newspaper Huvudstadsbladet

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THANK YOU !

2.3.2015