Checklist for drawing up the municipal integration programme

The entity corresponding to the new integration programme was not previously included in the Integration Act. The integration programme is a service package for the early stages of integration. The integration programme under the reformed act does not correspond to the municipal integration programme under the previous legislation; it is a new element. The concept of the integration programme under the previous act will be abandoned, but the municipality will continue to have an obligation to plan, develop and monitor integration. 

The content of the integration programme is provided for in section 13 of the Integration Act (681/2023). The integration programme is a service package for the early stages of integration organised by municipalities, the essential contents of which are

1. an assessment of service needs related to skills and integration and a multidisciplinary assessment of service needs related to skills and integration, 
2. an integration plan drawn up on the basis of the above, along with a multi-sectoral integration plan,
3. multilingual civic orientation,
4. integration training, including the final testing of language skills,
5. other education and services that promote Finnish and Swedish language skills, literacy, social and work skills, employability and entrepreneurship, and
6. guidance and counselling during the integration programme.

The purpose of the integration programme is to clarify the service package for the early stages of integration for immigrants and those involved in integration. In addition, the aim is to ensure that services promoting integration are provided in a uniform manner throughout Finland. It is important to take into account working-life orientation and the needs of the labour market when planning and implementing the content of the integration programme.

The integration programme can be drawn up, for example, in a project in cooperation with other parties managing and producing early-stage integration services, in particular the employment authority. A municipality may also agree on the preparation of the integration programme or the implementation of some services in cooperation with other municipalities. The project will produce functioning municipal services for the early stages of integration, communication about the services and a document describing them. The municipality will update the integration programme when the service needs and services change. 

The regional Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centre) will advise, if necessary, on the definition of the services included in the integration programme and on the preparation of a document describing the integration programme. In case of problems, please contact the immigration contact person of the regional ELY Centre. As of 1 January 2025, national support for the planning and implementation of the integration programme will be provided by the KEHA Centre.

• The municipality decides who or what body of the municipality is responsible for coordinating the preparation of the integration programme. 
• The coordinating municipal authority works in close cooperation with the employment authority, which is responsible for organising the early-stage integration services for the municipality’s integration customers who have registered as unemployed jobseekers.  The employment authority may also be the authority coordinating the integration programme in the municipality. 
• Cooperation is needed both between the municipality’s own divisions and between the municipality and other entities. 
• The coordinating body of the municipality should use a working group to support the preparation, which sets the schedule and division of responsibilities for the preparation of the programme. The cooperation may take place in a separate working group established for this purpose or in another broader working group related to integration, such as the cooperation group for the promotion of municipal immigration and integration under section 48 of the reformed Integration Act. 
• In addition to the employment authority, other municipal divisions, such as education, leisure and economic development services, as well as the wellbeing services county, organisations, educational institutions, the parish, companies and other authorities and service providers supporting integration, will be invited to participate in the preparatory work. 
• The municipality will ensure that municipal residents who have moved to Finland are actively involved in the process and that their views are taken into account in the development of the service package.

• The municipality determines how the services of integration customers included in the integration programme are provided in accordance with the act. 
  • The services needed for skills and integration can only be assessed and integration programmes prepared by municipal employees holding public offices. The municipality can outsource other services to be included in the integration programme to external service providers, such as educational institutions, organisations or companies. The municipality may produce or procure services in cooperation with other municipalities.
• When planning a service package, it is important to take into account that the employment authority is responsible for the early-stage integration services of those who have registered as unemployed jobseekers.  
• The municipality can assess the size of the target groups of the early-stage services in the municipality as a background for the planning of the services. 
  • The service package must include services for different integration target groups.  Services must be designed at least for those for whom the service need assessments must be prepared on a non-discretionary basis according to the Integration Act.
  • The integration programme should also address the early-stage integration services available in the municipality for immigrant children and young people. 
• The coordinating body of the municipality plans which services the municipality and the employment authority organise themselves and determines the parties responsible for these services and the necessary resources. 
• The coordinating body of the municipality plans the services to be purchased from other entities, including other municipalities or employment areas and the parties responsible for the procurement in the municipality, and defines the necessary resources. For example, a multilingual social orientation should be organised in cooperation with the employment authority or other municipalities. Cooperation makes it possible to produce, for example, more customised early-stage training for customers. 
• The coordinating body of the municipality evaluates the human and other resources needed for the early-stage services of integration and ensures that resource issues are taken into account in accordance with the budget procedure of the municipality. 
• The plan for the implementation of the services should be prepared in a working group that ensures that the service package is working-life oriented, consistent and functional and meets the needs of the municipality’s immigrants. The integration programme also takes into account the needs of the municipality’s business and industry.

• The municipality draws up a document describing the integration programme, describing 
  • services for the early stages of integration,
  • parties responsible for the services, and 
  • cooperation with other entities related to services.
• The document describes the implementation method of the services required by the Integration Act included in the integration programme and any non-statutory integration services available in the municipality, including those provided by organisations.
• The integration programme can also describe the municipality’s other services that promote early integration (e.g. cultural, youth, library and sports services). 
• It is also good to record in the document the target groups of the services and a plan for the programme’s accessible customer communications, monitoring the services and updating the integration programme.
• The Integration Act does not require that a document describing the integration programme be approved by the municipal council. The municipality may follow its own procedures regarding the approval of the document. 
• However, the municipality must take into account that, as of 1 January 2025, the document is a prerequisite for compensation in accordance with the Integration Act.

• The municipality communicates the integration programme to target groups, for example on its website. 
  • It is important to pay attention to the accessibility of the communication on the integration programme to the target groups. For example, plain language and/or multilingual and multi-channel communication support the customers’ reception of information about the early-stage services of integration and knowledge of how to find the services. 
• The municipality communicates the integration programme to its various sectors, residents, stakeholders and decision-makers. Information about the services supports customer guidance and multidisciplinary cooperation. 
• The integration programme can also be used as orientation material for new employees, helping employees working in integration promotion gain an overall picture of the early-stage integration services available in the municipality. 
• The integration programme is used as a tool for customer work in the early stages of integration. Together with the customer, the employee selects from the integration programme’s service package the services that will support the customer’s individual integration and inclusion in working life in the best possible way. Participation in the services is agreed in the customer’s individual integration plan.

• The municipality is responsible for ensuring that the integration programme service package and the document describing it are up to date. The municipality will update the integration programme when the service needs and services change.
• The working group that supported the compilation of the integration programme should be continued. 
  • The working group involved in the preparation of the integration programme may propose changes to the integration programme when the operating environment changes and ensure that the services provided meet the needs of immigrants.