The project is not always boring

Sometimes direction can be found by chance. One example of this is Lauri Miikkulainen from Imatra, who discovered while maintaining playgrounds that it could actually be meaningful to work with children and young people. The now 25-year-old Miikkulainen has decided to pursue a place to study nursing.

He has just finished half a year in the Katke project, which helps people out of working life back into working life or studying.

Miikkulainen eventually graduated as a car mechanic. Since then, no job has been found.

- This employment project was good. It was great when you could do real work and get paid for it.

Katke's one idea is that at the same time as work is done, skills are strengthened through training.

- During six months, I completed fire work, occupational safety and Road Safety 1 cards, Miikkulainen says with satisfaction.

On Tuesday, he participated with other course participants in a job search course at the town hall. Other course participants also praised the Katke project precisely because the employment jobs have been real jobs, and not felt like a support measure.

Katke is a project of the city of Imatra, which aims to support the employment opportunities of those excluded from working life.

Its goal is to employ 75 people for six months within two years. The project started in the spring of 2016. Most of the participants have been men over 30 years old.

Katke is not a traditional employment project. Employment tasks are those for which there is an acute need, but managing them as an employment project does not eat the bread of any entrepreneur.

- For example, we don't always have time to clean the streets of residential areas, even if the townspeople would like it. Now we have the manpower for this. If in any area there are such undone works that improve the urban image, it is not worth contacting, foreman Olli Seppänen from Imatra's urban infrastructure unit says.

In addition to clearing the roadsides, the people of the Katke project have taken care of waste management of city-maintained sheds and making firewood, renovating nature and fitness trails, straightening and cleaning traffic signs, winter maintenance of bus stops, making plowing sticks, cleaning illegal landfills in the city area, and helping earthworks.

The two-year costs of the Katke project are 266 euros. The project is financed by the European Union Social Fund (ESF) through the Häme Business Transport and Regional Administration Center with a total of 666 euros. The city of Imatra pays the remaining amount.

For more information:

Foreman Olli Seppänen, phone 020 617 4476, olli. seppanenimatra.fi (olli[dot]seppanen[at]imatra[dot]fi)

Project coordinator Tarja Hynninen, 020 6172340, tarja.hynninenimatra.fi (tarja[dot]hynnynen[at]imatra[dot]fi)