What is it about?
EKA Pulse 2026 is the skills needs survey of the Southwest Finland Foresight Academy, designed to gather stakeholder views on future skills needs over the next 5–10 years. The purpose of the survey is to provide insights for the Academy’s foresight and reporting work related to skills and education. The results are used particularly in sector-specific foresight activities, skills needs analyses, and in developing a picture of future development trends.
Workforce Availability Is a Prerequisite for Growth
EKA Pulse 2026 by the Southwest Finland Foresight Academy paints a positive yet challenging picture of the region’s economic development. Of the respondents, 62% expect their sector to grow over the next 5–10 years, while 60% anticipate an increasing need for skilled workers. At the same time, more than four out of five respondents identified at least some challenges related to workforce availability.
The survey was completed by 177 representatives from businesses, educational institutions, and public organizations. It was technically implemented using the Zeffi system of the Regional Council of Southwest Finland.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey.
Strong Professional Expertise Remains Essential – Built on Solid Foundation Skills
The results confirm that alongside technological and artificial intelligence capabilities, strong vocational and professional skills, employability skills, and collaboration skills remain essential. Communication and teamwork skills emerged as the most important future competence area. The largest current skills gaps, in turn, are related to general workplace competencies, multidisciplinary expertise, and basic professional skills.
The findings also reveal clear differences between sectors. In the technology industry, there is a need for both core production skills and specialized expertise in automation, data, artificial intelligence, and engineering design. In the maritime industry, skills needs range from vocationally trained professionals to highly specialized experts, and job roles increasingly combine practical craftsmanship with programming and robotics. In the health and social services sector, key concerns include not only workforce availability but also language skills, multidisciplinary expertise, leadership capabilities, and maintaining work ability. In the food sector, sustainability, technology, entrepreneurship, and practical production skills are all increasingly interconnected.
According to the survey, skills development requires simultaneous investment in strengthening foundation skills, rapidly updatable short courses and micro-credentials, flexible pathways between different levels of education, and close cooperation between educational institutions and working life.
Use of Artificial Intelligence in This Report
This report was compiled using Microsoft 365 Copilot. The report content has not been substantially modified or supplemented following AI generation. The AI performed the compilation based on the instructions and limitations provided. This summary was defined to be produced solely from the results of this survey.
- Product: Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Model Family: GPT-5
- Environment: Enterprise Copilot connected to the organization’s Microsoft 365 environment
You can explore the survey results in more detail here:
Download the EKA Pulse 2026 Results Report
The presentation summarising the results is available here:
Download the Summary Presentation
Further Information
Esa Högblom
Senior Planning Officer
Regional Council of Southwest Finland