The initial assessment includes an initial interview and specifying procedures, if necessary.
The authority may carry out the initial assessment itself or organise the specified measures included in the assessment as a purchased service.
For example, many providers of education and training services offer procedures included in the initial assessment such as determining skills in Finnish and Swedish and literacy. The content of both the initial assessments that municipalities are responsible for and those that TE Services is responsible for are based on the decree on initial assessments. However, it is possible to emphasise some areas of the assessment in a different way depending on the immigrant’s needs.
The initial interview and other measures of the initial assessment are carried out in the immigrant’s mother tongue or in a language that the person understands sufficiently. The authority must ensure that the immigrant understands the matters discussed in the initial assessment and organise the required interpretation.
The initial interview determines whether the immigrant has the following general capacities for integration:
- literacy
- proficiency in Finnish and Swedish
- study skills and capacities
- previous education and work experience
- competence related to special skills and other strengths
- Wishes related to employment and education or training
- life situation and related service needs
Based on the information obtained from the initial interview, the following specifying procedures may be included in the initial assessment:
- assessment and identification of prior learning
- determining the level of literacy
- determining the level of oral and written proficiency in Finnish and /or Swedish
- determining study skills
- career planning
- assessment of service needs.
The initial assessment of an immigrant is often a process consisting of several different stages. Its content and duration depend on the immigrant’s situation. However, the initial assessment must always be sufficiently thorough so that the assessment of the immigrant’s service need from the point of view of integration and employment can be based on it and the person can be directed to services meeting their service need. The initial assessment is an important starting point for drawing up the integration plan.
The initial assessment must be started within two months of the beginning of the client relationship or the date when the immigrant requested it.
To be able to initiate the initial assessment conducted in the municipality as smoothly as possible, it is important that the municipality has agreed on which party is responsible for the initial assessments and on the practices for how immigrants are directed to the assessments and how the initial assessments are prepared. At the same time, it is important to agree on how information on initial assessments is communicated to those customer groups that do not regularly use municipal services or TE services. The policies on operating practices are included in the municipality's integration programme, for example.
Read more:
Decree on Initial Assessments Associated with Promoting Integration (Only in Finnish)
Initial language assessment for the clients of the Employment services