Youth and students

JHL’s Nuorisofoorumi (Youth Forum) is a path for young people to make an impact in the trade union. Any JHL member under 35 can join Nuorisofoorumi. The forum members represent various occupational sectors, educational institutions, genders and localities.

This is what Nuorisofoorumi, NuFo in short, does:

• acts as a mouthpiece for young people in JHL
• plans events and activities for young JHL members
• voices its opinion on working life matters that concern young people
• makes it clear to the trade union’s decision makers what young people think
• functions as a link between the young members of the regions
• examines and further develops the organisation of JHL’s youth activities both regionally and nationally, with special attention being paid to young members’ possibilities of taking action and making a difference

Nuorisofoorumi gets together 6–8 times a year to discuss these themes. As a rule, the meetings take place around Finland on weekends.

How can I access Nuorisofoorumi?

The 20 Nuorisofoorumi members are appointed for two years at a time. The youth section of every region can appoint one representative. The rest of the representatives will be selected based on open-ended applications.

Keep an eye on the Finnish-speaking social media channels of JHL youth and students (Instagram and Facebook) for available positions in Nuorisofoorumi! If you’re interested in NuFo membership or you’d like to learn more about it, you can also send a message to nuoret@jhl.fi.

Members of Nuorisofoorumi in 2023–2024

Southern Finland

• Mohamud Nawal
• Piitulainen Emma
• Raunio Atte
• Kuismanen Lotta
• Koistinen Samira
• Mountassir Jasmin
• Kalpio Säde

Oulu area

• Körkkö Laura

Lapland

• Hyytinen Santtu

Eastern Finland

• Göös Laura
• Nevalainen Hanna-Mari

Southeast Finland

• Metsola Elli-Noora
• Riikonen Riikka

Southwest Finland

• Lain Päivi

Inner Finland

• Kuusipalo Saana
• Puura Joni
• Suominen Daniela

It’s great that you’re interested in making a difference and getting more involved in your trade union’s activities! We certainly welcome new people. We guarantee you’ll have lots of great experiences and make new friends!

You can become, say, a school agent, solidarity ambassador or an active in your own branch. Perhaps you’d like to join an occupational sector forum of your sector? There you can network with other star professionals of your sector and impact the union’s operations. If you’re under 35, you might be interested in Nuorisofoorumi (see the above information). Here you can check out all the ways in which to participate in JHL’s operations.

P.S. Student member, check with your teacher or another party responsible for your education whether you can earn study points for being a union active.

You can also use social media to find out about JHL’s activities and events for youth and students. Start following @jhlnuoret on Instagram and JHL nuoret ja opiskelijat on Facebook to see the latest info in your feed!

We organise activities around Finland to our young members. Various regions also have their own social media channels for youth. You should also start following your own region’s page! We’ve listed the pages here:

Facebook

• Eastern Finland youth
• JHL Elaine (youth branch for Southern Finland)
• Kasaus – JHL’s youth branch for Southeast Finland
• Oulu-Kainuu JHL Youth
• Ostrobothnian youth
• JHL Youth action group for Helsinki Metropolitan Region
• Helsinki JHL Youth
• Satakunta JHL Youth
• Youth branch of Southwest Finland VARSA

Instagram

• Eastern Finland youth
• Eastern Finland youth (another group)
• Southeast Finland youth

You can become JHL’s student member (membership fee €0) if you’re a full-time student. According to our interpretation, a full-time student

• receives full adult education allowance from Employment Fund OR
• is primarily at an educational institution during the day
• is entitled to a study grant
• is studying for a degree
• is not an apprenticeship or multiform-learning student
• does not have a day job.

Are you an apprenticeship student? Please join as an ordinary member.

When you join as our student member, you should also apply for membership in the unemployment fund, even if you’re not working yet. When you start working in addition to studying, or after your studies, your unemployment fund membership will be activated. Please notify our Membership Service when you start working.

Even if you’d forget to notify us about starting work, we can also activate your unemployment fund membership retroactively if you’ve applied for fund membership proactively. When you’ve also joined as an unemployment fund member during your studies, you will automatically become our ordinary member after your studies are over.

If you’re a full-time student, the trade union membership is free of charge for you. When you work and belong to the unemployment fund, you’ll only pay the unemployment fund membership fee, which is 0.30% of your gross income. When you’re no longer a student, you’ll become JHL’s ordinary member. You will then pay a shared fee for union and fund membership, 1% of your gross income.

On this page you can join both the union and unemployment fund. The joining form enables you to choose whether you want to join the union, unemployment fund or both.

If you’re a student and you only join the trade union but not the unemployment fund, remember to join the unemployment fund separately when you start work. In this case, unemployment fund membership cannot be activated retroactively, so please remember to join the fund as soon as you receive news of your first job!

Why is it important to join the unemployment fund?

As a member of the JHL Unemployment Fund you can get earnings-related daily allowance if you face unemployment. The allowance significantly exceeds Kela’s basic unemployment allowance. One prerequisite for being granted earnings-related daily unemployment allowance is that you’ve been an unemployment fund member for at least 26 weeks. That’s why you should join the fund immediately as you start working!

Learn more: What is the unemployment fund and why should I belong to it?

Please note! You can belong to several trade unions but only to one unemployment fund.

Notify us of your graduation date. After that date, your student membership will be converted into an ordinary membership. If necessary, you can change the date in myJHL or by contacting the Membership Service. After your studies are over, you will be sent a letter containing information about graduation and membership. Act in accordance with the letter’s instructions!

Is your contact information up to date? Update the information in myJHL!

After you’ve graduated, you must take action for your membership to remain valid:

• If you work, you have to pay the membership fee.
• If you have no earned income or the right to be exempted from paying the membership fee, you will pay the minimum membership fee.
• If you’re in some other situation, remember to notify us of your exemption from paying the membership fee.

As an ordinary member, you must pay the membership fee or notify of an exemption from paying the fee in order for your membership to remain valid.

And hey! If you’re not yet a member of the unemployment fund, join at the latest when you graduate and start working! In JHL, the shared fee for trade union and unemployment fund membership is 1% of gross income.

• Tanja Oksanen, 050 4471 672, tanja.oksanen@jhl.fi
• Southern and Southwest Finland: Laura Erkkonen, 050 3141 016, laura.erkkonen@jhl.fi
• Southern Finland: Jaana Niare, 050 328 2859, jaana.niare@jhl.fi
• Inner Finland and Ostrobothnia: Kalle Sumelles, 050 4479 806, kalle.sumelles@jhl.fi
• Eastern and Southeast Finland: Niina Ljungkvist, 050 4404 709, niina.ljungkvist@jhl.fi (on study leave until 31 May 2023)
• Lapland and Oulu area: Mari Ikonen, 050 4482 948, mari.ikonen@jhl.fi