A skilled workforce and excellent educational opportunities

The Pori region’s diverse engineering education and specialised R&D environment supports the growth of the companies specialising in battery and technology metals, circular economy, automation, robotics, and AI. Pori and its surrounding area offer the opportunity to study over 30 different topics up to degree level. There are also several varied educational activities and courses designed to help people who require reskilling (training for a different job) and upskilling (enhancing an individuals work-related skillset), so companies can find relevant and current expertise.

Education

The Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) and University Consortium of Pori educate future professionals in close collaboration with the region’s leading businesses and industrial clusters.

SAMK has been ranked among the five best universities of applied sciences in Finland. Every year, there are around 300 student projects that are undertaken in collaboration with companies and organisations. Cooperation provides the studies with a practical, tangible, and more real-world perspective – and practical training is a part of all degrees.

There are two universities that operate in the University Consortium of Pori. The programmes of Tampere University include the Doctoral and Master’s Degree Programme in Social Sciences, Social Work, Management and Information Technology and the Master’s Degree Programme in Work, Welfare and Wellbeing.

Research activities include technology-oriented research in business ecosystems, networks and innovations, software engineering and intelligent systems, data-analytics and optimisation, and learning games and gaming in education. In social sciences, research, teaching, and development activities focus on issues related to the welfare of individuals, communities, and societies.

Turku School of Economics at Pori offers Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Economics and Business Administration. The main areas of expertise and research are knowledge-intensive organisations and their business competences and sustainable development. The University of Turku also administers the Degree Programme in Digital Culture, Landscape and Cultural Heritage that offers undergraduate and postgraduate education in the cultural field.

Maritime Studies include environmental research related to marine themes, short sea shipping and intermodal research and development and exploitation of these themes in the regional operations.

WinNova offers a wide variety of educational services, vocational and professional qualifications, and courses in cooperation with companies and the public sector.

Sataedu provides vocational education, as well as further and additional training, which bolsters professional skills.

Tech and startups

The Pori region aims to foster the development of burgeoning automatisation and Al industries, to provide cost-effective and high-quality public services and to serve as a platform for testing and developing new products for industries.

With dedicated clusters for robotics, AI and gaming, Pori is quickly becoming a hub for pioneering technology startups. Robocoast´s automation, robotics and AI cluster, industrial ecosystems of technology metals and the circular economy offer a perfect ecosystem for your growing start-up. The universities in the area offer ’full of potential’ new talents for start-ups to recruit or to find potential co-founders.

Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is an important driver of growth and Pori is a heavy investor in this field. We pride ourselves on taking a hands-on approach here. Prerequisites for entrepreneurship are created at a young age: entrepreneurship education begins at school. A new entrepreneur will be provided with information, support, and assistance. And the growth of the company does not fall short of knowledge: nearly 8,000 students ensure that there is a constant supply of fresh and smart know-how.

Skilled & dedicated workers

People in Pori offer a persistent approach to work and an international way of working – whatever the industry. Here, self-irony and self-criticism shake hands in perfect harmony, and we never cut corners. The workforce in our area is committed to their home region and the employee turnover in companies is low. This important intellectual capital contributes to the expansion and growth of business.

International community

Internationalisation has been reflected in the history of the Pori region for centuries, first in the form of trade and then in industrial growth. In Pori, it is possible to go to early childhood education, comprehensive school, and upper secondary school in the Finnish, Swedish or English languages. There is a wide range of international degrees. International students enrich the culture of our area, and our industries operate in a global environment.