Digital support is one part of the services at the palvelutori service centre

A service centre with diverse public services opened at the start of the year at Hyvinkää Villatehdas.

Kela activities were the last ones to move to the service centre in April to strengthen the service offering. City of Hyvinkää employment manager Aki Leinonen says that clients have found their way to the service centre. The signs recently posted at Villatehdas are a concrete help in guiding the customers to the right place. The centre has had an average of about 2,000 visitors per month. Of course, the summer was a slightly quieter time. According to Leinonen, the premises are large enough for the operations.

– Tuesday to Thursday is our busiest time. Monday and Friday are quieter.

In the age of online services, there is a need for digital support

At the service centre, customers have access to four computers for online services, through which an increasing proportion of official business is handled nowadays.

– Digital support is offered as a low-threshold resource, without appointment. Some people don't have the necessary skills, and others may not have a printer at home, says service centre coordinator Jenni Hätönen. According to her, it's not just older people who need digital support; the people who ask for guidance come from all walks of life.

– Some people may need help because they don't have a computer at home. They do most things on their mobile phones.

It's nice to help people move forward

In practice, digital support is mainly provided by customer advisors on duty in the service centre lobby. Customer advisor Juha Mattila says that support is requested about a hundred times a month on average, so there is a real need for it.

– The cases vary greatly. Sometimes the guidance takes only a moment, and sometimes it can take an hour. Most often, help is needed with matters related to Kela, but also with job hunting, of course.

Mattila believes that digital support is perhaps the most demanding part of a customer advisor's job, but in a way, it is also the most enjoyable part.

– It's nice when people can deal with matters they need to sort out and then move on. If, for example, just one attachment is missing from an application, the person may not receive the benefit they are seeking.

Jenni Hätönen and Juha Mattila are happy to help with digital matters at the service centre.

Convenient and accessible

One of the customers is Fadlalla Toto from Hyvinkää, who is looking for a new job. The man, who has lived in Finland for eleven years, is originally from Sudan. He has also lived in Egypt for a while.

– I worked as a welder at a company in Riihimäki for almost six years, but now I've been unemployed for over a year. It's difficult to find work these days because so many people have been laid off, says Toto. Fadlalla Toto now spends most of his time at home with his wife and five children, filling out job applications. Going to the gym and shopping brings some variety to his life.

– The most important thing would be to find a job. I'm not used to being at home doing nothing in any country. In my home country, I mainly worked in construction.

Metal industry is the first choice

Fadlalla Toto thinks that the idea of the service centre is excellent. The place is easily accessible, and, conveniently, you can find all professionals and services under the same roof. Toto has mainly worked with integration advisor David Kariuk and work coach Minna Stelter. They have been building Toto's CV and preparing for job interviews.

– David and Minna have helped me to look for jobs and to deal with the bureaucracy involved in employment. All support has been important. We move towards employment in small steps. Toto is interested, for example, in getting training as a CNC machinist.

– You get better job opportunities with diversified skills. However, it is not easy to get selected for this training. Another option for Toto Fadlalla is to move to a completely new profession.

– I could consider a change of profession if I could find something suitable. But first and foremost, I would like to work in the field that I am familiar with, the metal industry.