Digitalization, rapidly evolving job roles, and a shortage of skilled workers are pushing companies to rethink how they recruit and organize work. In many workplaces, the day-to-day reality is fragmentation: tasks pile up on individual employees to the point where efficiency is lost in the rush.
At the same time, vocational special education schools are graduating students who are looking for their place in the workforce and in society. These individuals have what we call targeted work ability — they have the skills, motivation, and desire to work, but need tailored solutions and support.
Most people don’t realize that these two realities could align. But this is exactly where a new opportunity lies!
A person with targeted work ability isn’t just “getting by” in the workplace. When their role is thoughtfully designed, they can strengthen a company’s operations, bring clarity to task distribution, and ease the load on the rest of the team. When every employee is able to focus on what they do best, productivity improves.
Take the service industry, for example: one employee might focus on keeping things clean, setting tables, or supporting kitchen operations — freeing up the rest of the team to handle customer service and sales. In manufacturing, one person might be responsible for a task requiring precision, while others focus on adjustments, monitoring, and managing the overall workflow.
But these kinds of roles don’t appear by accident. They are created through collaboration between schools and the world of work.
It takes more than just offering a job — it takes partnership. At Ammattiopisto Spesia, we’re building cooperation models where businesses aren’t just training sites, but active partners. With the help of guidance and job coaching, a student’s learning path can be customized to meet the needs of a specific workplace — and in return, the company gets to shape and train a future employee in their own environment.
This isn’t just about corporate social responsibility. It’s about a smarter, more sustainable way to organize work.
There’s no one-size-fits-all formula for making this model work. It’s built through conversations, collaboration, and a willingness to try something new. The school needs to understand the day-to-day reality of the business — and businesses benefit from learning what targeted work ability students can do and what support they might need.
Often, the first step is simple: a conversation. As an education provider, Ammattiopisto Spesia’s role is to help make that happen. We build pathways where students can gain real experience in authentic settings — and where companies are supported at every stage of the process.
The future of work won’t be built on generic skills or survival alone. It will be built on people doing what they do best — and doing it well. People with targeted work ability can be exactly those people. But only if we give them the chance to shine.
So here’s the question: Could your workplace be the perfect fit for a targeted work ability student?
Learn more about partnering with Ammattiopisto Spesia!
Find your local business coach: www.spesia.fi/tyoelamalle (website in Finnish)
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I work as a business co-operation coach at Ammattiopisto Spesia in Pieksämäki. Together with my colleagues, we meet many companies seeking more sustainable, effective solutions for everyday work life — and many find them in collaboration with our talented, targeted work ability graduates.