A solution developed through the SYNCLUSIVE project is gaining recognition in Finland. The “Guiding Skills and Development” supervisor training programme, developed and piloted through the SYNCLUSIVE Finnish Living Lab, has been featured in the Action Forum of the “Doing Important Work” (Tärkeissä Töissä) initiative.
The recognition highlights the value of the programme as a practical approach to strengthening supervisors’ capacity to support employees’ learning, skills development and career progression in the workplace.
Supporting supervisors to develop workplace skills
The “Guiding Skills and Development” training programme was developed and implemented through collaboration between the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) and the HR Department of the City of Kokkola.
The programme is based on peer-group learning and provides supervisors with knowledge, tools and opportunities to reflect on how they can better support the development of their employees. It focuses particularly on:
- strengthening supervisors’ skills in supporting workplace learning;
- identifying and developing employees’ competencies;
- supporting career development and professional growth;
- improving supervisors’ ability to have meaningful discussions about skills and development; and
- encouraging a more development-oriented workplace culture.
The programme was tested with supervisors in Kokkola, and its effects were assessed through surveys and interviews with participating supervisors. The results demonstrated positive effects and provided valuable insights into how structured peer learning can strengthen supervisors’ capabilities.
From a SYNCLUSIVE Living Lab to a national platform
The training programme was developed as part of the SYNCLUSIVE Living Lab in Kokkola, where local stakeholders worked together to explore practical solutions for more inclusive and sustainable working life.
The Kokkola Living Lab focuses on supporting supervisors and organisations in creating workplaces where employees can develop their skills and pursue their careers, while also helping organisations respond to changing competence needs.
Being featured in the Doing Important Work Action Forum provides an opportunity to share the SYNCLUSIVE approach with a wider Finnish audience and demonstrate how solutions developed through collaborative Living Lab processes can be translated into practical workplace development.
Sharing and scaling effective workplace solutions
Doing Important Work is a joint Finnish working-life development initiative of labour market organisations. Its Action Forum brings together workplace development practices and innovations from municipalities and wellbeing services counties, creating opportunities to share experiences, learn from successful approaches and promote the wider uptake of effective solutions.
The inclusion of the SYNCLUSIVE training programme in the Action Forum demonstrates the potential of the project’s Living Lab approach to generate practical, evidence-informed solutions that can be applied beyond the project itself.
For SYNCLUSIVE, this recognition is an important example of how local experimentation and cooperation between research institutions, public authorities and workplaces can contribute to more inclusive and development-oriented working environments.
Learn more about Doing Important Work and its Action Forum:
Doing Important Work – an initiative to develop working life
Read more about the “Guiding Skills and Development” supervisor training programme (in Finnish):
Ohjaa osaamista – esihenkilövalmennus
SYNCLUSIVE is working to develop more inclusive labour markets by bringing together organisations, experts and people with different experiences and needs to co-create practical solutions for participation in working life.