Helsinki International Voucher

The City of Helsinki is offering a Helsinki International Voucher of €3,000 to employers to promote the employment and retention of international higher education students/recent graduates in Finnish working life. The voucher is intended for employers who hire an international student or recent graduate for at least a two (2) month internship.

Please note that the DL has been extended until Thursday 13.11.20215 at 14.00. There is also one new position (Education Development Trainee at Humak University of Applied Sciences) with the DL for Sunday 16.11. at 14.00.

If you have already applied for a traineeship (between 3.11.-10.11.2025) we have your application - you do not need to send a new one.

Are you an international student in a master’s degree program or recently graduated one and want to advance your career in the Finnish job market? This is an excellent opportunity to strengthen your professional expertise in Finnish working life, build networks with employers, and improve your Finnish language skills through real work experience.

These traineeship opportunities are part for the City of Helsinki’s ‘Helsinki International Voucher’, which supports international higher education graduates in offering paid traineeships in Finnish companies.

You may apply for only one of the 13 positions listed below.

What is the program?

Through the program, you can gain paid work experience in a company operating in Finland and develop your understanding of Finnish working life. The contract lasts 2–4 months (part-time or full-time, depending on the company’s needs).

During the program, Metropolia provides coaching to strengthen your professional skills and career development.

Basic requirements for all applicants

You are eligible to apply if you:

• Are studying for a higher degree (master’s level) with at least 80% of your studies completed, or you are a recent master´s graduate from a university or university of applied sciences located in the Helsinki metropolitan area.
• If you are alumni from a higher education institution in the Helsinki Capital Region and have graduated after 30 November 2024.
• Are registered as a resident of Helsinki.
• Have Finnish or Swedish skills at least at level A2.1, or have completed at least two Finnish or Swedish language courses.
• Are an international student/alumni (non-native Finnish/Swedish speaker) with the right to work in Finland.

Traineeships are listed below

All the positions will be opened until 13.11.2025 at 14.00 EXCEPT the first one (Education Development Trainee at Humak University of Applied Science) that is open until 16.11.2025 at 14.00)

Read carefully the traineeship positions listed below, you can only apply to one position.

Education Development Trainee at Humak University of Applied Sciences(Link leads to external service) (DL 16.11. at 14.00)

Sales and Marketing Trainee at School of Gaming Galactic Oy(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Community Building Trainee at Cogknit Oy(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Web Designer Trainee at Europass Teacher Academy Finland Oy(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Brand Development & Partnerships Trainee at Oy Articulatte Ab(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Marketing & Student Support Trainee at Apprentis Global Education(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Social Media Trainee at Flavour Solutions Oy(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Sales Representative Trainee at Mimiqit Oy(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Marketing Trainee at Brewfarm Oy(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

AI Engineer Trainee at Renessai Oy(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Marketing and Customer Service Trainee at DD Carwash Oy(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Event Coordinator & Marketing Intern at New Wave / ODDfest(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Social Media Trainee at Meridian Agency Oy(Link leads to external service) (New DL 13.11. at 14.00)

Please note: The Helsinki International Voucher is for employers only. Employers who receive the voucher will begin recruiting international students/graduates at a later stage.

Step 1 – Employer Application Process

1. Read the terms and conditions that applies to employers, international students/recent graduates and internships, found at the bottom of this page.
2. Employers who meet the conditions and are interested in hiring an international student/graduate with the support of the Helsinki International Voucher must fill in  this form(Link leads to external service) by 12 October. Applications are limited to 1 per employer. A representative from the City of Helsinki will contact the employer to go through the criteria of the voucher, the application process, the preliminary job description of the traineeship and the trainee's skills wishes.
3. The City of Helsinki will make a decision and notify the employer electronically about the voucher. If there are more applicants than the number of vouchers available, the employers will be selected via a lottery process. The City of Helsinki will select 20 employers. Vouchers are limited to 1 per employer.
4. Employers who have been approved by the City of Helsinki as recipients of the voucher can start the recruitment process for an intern.
5. Employers have the opportunity to receive recruitment support from Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, who will help employers in preparing a job advertisement and pre-selecting candidates. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences can also arrange guidance for students during the internship period.
6. An employer can apply for the Helsinki International Voucher payment after signing an employment contract with the international degree student.

Step 2 – Payment and Usage

1. The voucher is paid to the employer as a lump sum after the payment decision.
2. The employer agrees to use the Helsinki International Voucher payment for the purpose mentioned in the decision. Documents related to the employment relationship and processing must be submitted to the City of Helsinki upon request for monitoring the use of the voucher. The use of the International Voucher is also monitored through random inspections.
3. The payment can be recovered from the employer if it has been granted based on incorrect information, if it has been used for an unrelated purpose, or if the employer refuses to provide the requested additional information.
4. At the end of the traineeship, the employer fills in a feedback form. The employer and the student also commit to a 30-minute feedback discussion.

For more information, contact:  tyollisyyspalvelut.kvrekry@hel.fi(Link opens default mail program)  

Terms and Conditions:

Employers

1. The employer is interested in and committed to hiring an international student or recent graduate for an internship.
2. The employer must be an official employer with a business ID and must be an organization, foundation, association or company operating in Helsinki. Freelancers or solo entrepreneurs are not eligible to apply.
3. The employer can be found in the pre-payment register.
4. The employer has a Finnish bank account.
5. There must be evidence of the employer's activities for at least one year.
6. The employer does not face any significant financial challenges (redundancies, layoffs, unpaid taxes, etc.).

7. In the granting of the voucher, priority will be given to employers who have had no experience in hiring international interns or employees. If the employer also has an office outside Helsinki, only the operations of the Helsinki office are considered in this condition.

   a. If there are still more employers fulfilling the priority status than the voucher can grant, the employers applying for the voucher will go through a lottery process.

   b. If, after the priority applicants, there are still vouchers available, and there are more applicants than the voucher to be awarded, a lottery process will be conducted among these applicants.

8. The voucher is granted as de minimis support in accordance with European Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831. The employer must be eligible for support in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/2831. The total amount of de minimis aid granted to one company may not exceed EUR 300 000 in the last three years, unless otherwise provided for in the de minimis regulation. The three-year period will be evaluated on an ongoing basis. In the grant applications, the grant applicants indicate the de minimis aid granted to the company (amount) and the dates on which the aid was granted during the above-mentioned three-year period. For the purposes of the de minimis regulation, 'single undertaking' means any undertaking between which there is at least one of the following relationships:

   a. A company holds a majority of the voting rights of the shareholders or members of another company;

   b. An entity has the right to appoint or dismiss a majority of the members of the management, administrative or supervisory body of another company;

   c. The company has the right to exercise control over another company by virtue of an agreement with the company or by virtue of a provision of the articles of association, articles of association or bylaws;

   d. An enterprise that is a shareholder or member of another enterprise controls the majority of the voting rights of the shareholders or members of that enterprise by virtue of an agreement concluded with the other shareholders or members of the other enterprise.

Enterprises which have any of the relationships referred to in points (a) to (d) with one or more other enterprises shall also be considered as one enterprise.

International students/recent graduates

1. The student must reside in Helsinki.
2. The student must be from an international background who has moved to Finland from abroad and is studying for a master's degree at a university or University of Applied Sciences located in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The teaching of the degree programme must also take place in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.
3. The student must have completed at least 80% of the studies at the time of their application or have graduated within 12 months.
4. The student has not before been in a paid internship or employment relationship with the same employer.
5. The student has completed at least two courses in Finnish or Swedish or has an A2.1 level in Finnish or Swedish.

Internship

1. The employer must pay the student at least the minimum wage determined by Kela (EUR 1,430 per month in 2025) and/or comply with the collective agreement for the sector.
2. The internship cannot consist only of remote work.
3. The internship role/tasks must correspond to the student's education and/or previous experience.
4. The duration of the employment relationship must be at least 2 months full-time or 4 months part-time, and must be completed at latest by 31 March 2026.
5. The student must have a supervisor who supervises their work.
6. The voucher is able to be used to cover the student's salary costs for the internship by the date mentioned in the call for applications.
7. The voucher can be combined with existing vouchers granted for internships in higher education institutions.