Laurea receives age equality certificate in recognition of its age-equal work community 

In recognition of its appreciation and equal treatment of employees of all ages at different stages of their careers, Laurea University of Applied Sciences was awarded the Excellence Finland age certificate in October 2025. The recognition is also a testament to Laurea's commitment to developing its operations into an increasingly responsible and age-equal work community.

Laurea scored 80 points (on a scale of 0–100) in all three assessment categories (goals, implementation, results, and development), which indicates a good and comprehensive level of promotion of age diversity.

The average age of employees is over 50

 At Laurea, age diversity is reflected in a wide age range. 

 “The average age of permanent employees at Laurea is over 50. In addition, our university is a pleasant place to work, as the average length of service is over 10 years. Twenty-seven percent of employees have been with Laurea for over 15 years”, says Tiina Päivärinne, Laurea's HR Director.

The diversity of the work community is supported by, among other things, flexible working arrangements and consideration for employees of different ages at different stages of their careers. At Laurea, flexible working and individual needs are supported by, among other things, the possibility of temporary remote work abroad in EU/EEA countries and the age-based leave model in use.  

"In accordance with the age leave practice, employees over the age of 56 are granted two days off per academic year and those over the age of 60 are granted one week off. The aim is to support employees' recovery after reaching a certain age”, Päivärinne explains.

The length of remote work abroad can be up to 30 calendar days per year. The purpose of this is to support the combination of work and leisure time for staff and to enable different life situations and choices. If, for example, a person wants to work a shorter working week, the aim is to support this request if the work tasks allow it. 

“Balancing work, leisure, and family life is seen as a significant asset at our university. The opportunities offered by Laurea have been positively received by our staff and are widely utilized”, Päivärinne sums up.

Competence is a more important factor than age

Laurea's recruitment process focuses on competence rather than age.

Equality and diversity are assessed by an HR representative involved in the recruitment process, who discusses the selection criteria with the hiring managers at different stages of the recruitment process and ensures that the recruitment decision is based on competence rather than, for example, age.  The selection criteria are also published to all rejected applicants, who can discuss them with the hiring manager if they wish, for example, if they have concerns about the impact of age on the selection. 

Laurea employs nearly 700 people, slightly more than half of whom are teaching staff, with the rest being research and development staff and other experts.

“The selection criteria for recruitment at our university are largely based on formal qualifications. For example, teaching staff are required to have a higher education degree, at least three years of work experience, and pedagogical qualifications. This directs attention to competence rather than age, for example”, explains Miika Mäki-Torkko, who is responsible for recruitment at Laurea.

Laurea's goal is to build a more equal, diverse, and inclusive work community where everyone feels valued and can grow, no matter their age.

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