Independent study supported by unemployment benefit

If you are a client with the City of Tampere Employment and Growth Services and you are planning to study, contact your personal counsellor well in advance. You can also send a contact request to an expert in the E-services of TE Services for personal customers. This contact is necessary, so that your personal counsellor can assess your needs for education and training, and for you to discuss what kind of training would best support your employment. Your studies can only be supported by unemployment benefit if you are assessed to have an educational need, and if the intended studies are considered to significantly improve your chances in the job market.

Once you receive a study place, ask your institution to fill in form KK 621 about your studies, i.e. the Education Service Provider’s Report on studies planned to be supported by unemployment benefit. Fill in the form entitled Justification of Training Needs (TEM623) which is addressed to the client of the local government pilot scheme. Submit the completed forms to the City of Tampere Employment and Growth Services.

The City of Tampere Employment and Growth Services will make a decision on supporting studies once they have received the forms. Please note that, as a general rule, the decision to grant support for studies must be obtained before starting the studies, and support will not be granted for studies that have already started. However, your unemployment benefit will not be affected if you apply for a study place. If the studies you have planned are not eligible for unemployment benefit, check with the City of Tampere Employment and Growth Services, to see if you can complete your studies part-time. Your unemployment benefit will not be affected by part-time studies if you are willing to work full-time at the same time.

To be eligible for unemployment benefit for studies, you must be a client of the City of Tampere Employment and Growth Services and at least 25 years old. Furthermore, you must have the educational need established by the City of Tampere Employment and Growth Services. You must agree on your studies in an employment plan or a replacement plan drafted together with the City of Tampere Employment and Growth Services, before starting your studies. You may only receive unemployment benefit for the studies that have started if at least one year has passed since the suspension of studies or if you have started your studies during employment, or while you were receiving a periodic payment of financial benefits from your employer, or if you have started the studies as a labour market training.

The studies to be supported must be full-time. Full-time studies include e.g. higher education studies leading to an academic degree, or other studies with an average scope of at least 5 credits or 4.5 competence points per month of studies or 25 hours per week. In addition to being full-time, the studies must lead to a basic vocational qualification, a further vocational qualification or specialist vocational qualification, a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree or accomplishment of parts of these qualifications. The studies may also include further and continuing education and training, in accordance with the Act on Vocational Education and Training, or Open University or Polytechnic education. One study module can be supported for at most 24 months, except for completion of comprehensive education which can be supported for a maximum of 48 months.