The spring joint applications were a pleasant surprise, as the number of applicants for vocational qualifications in the construction sector increased significantly from the previous year. The growth was boosted by, among other things, the Tuu teike perässä joint application campaign, Yrityskylä junior high school and RaksaTET cooperation.
The Finnish Construction Industry Association (RT) set a five percent growth target for the number of applicants for vocational training in the sector this year. In the current economic situation, the target was recognized as challenging, but not impossible. It was decided to put more effort into attraction work and communication aimed at young people than ever before.
The investment was very concretely visible in the actual number of applicants to secondary education: there was a growth of as much as 16 percent in basic degrees in construction compared to the previous year, 7 percent in basic degrees in surface treatment, and 9 percent in basic degrees in building services.
"It's great that young people are enthusiastic about studying in the field. In basic construction degrees, young people are particularly interested in the infrastructure sector. The number of applicants for building services has increased by a total of 58 percent in five years," says a leading expert at the Construction Industry Association (RT). Saku Lehtinen.
The development in the number of applicants to university Master of Engineering studies in the construction sector increased by a couple of percent.
At the University of Applied Sciences, the number of applicants for civil engineering studies decreased by six percent, and for master builders, the number of applicants decreased by 11 percent, which shows the impact of the weak employment situation. “On the other hand, in engineering, there was an 11 percent increase in multi-disciplinary studies,” says Lehtinen.
The "Tuu tekei perässä" joint application campaign inspired young people
The joint application campaign "Tuu teike perässä" (You follow me) on social media, led by RT, started in mid-December and ended in the last week of the joint applications. Its aim was to strengthen the image of the construction industry, especially among those under 18, and to encourage them to apply for construction studies.
The social media channels that young people use the most were chosen for the campaign. In addition, during the first week of the joint search, the advertising campaign also ran on digital advertising screens in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Turku and Tampere.
The campaign's video content was created in collaboration with RT's member companies. The videos featured young people working in the construction industry, who talked about their work in a relaxed, personal style. The ads also featured fun AI characters that supported the young people's stories.
Young people led Rakenna tulevaisuutta Oy in Yrityskyli and visited construction sites during RaksaTET week
In addition to the advertising campaign, in autumn 2025, the joint Yrityskylä Yläkoulut (Business Villages) of RT and member companies from various industries were launched, reaching approximately 5,000 middle school students. In the infrastructure sector, Yrityskylä has been implemented for four consecutive years, reaching 4,500 schoolchildren. In addition, for the first time, a RaksaTET week was organized with the Youth and Children's Foundation, where middle school students tour the construction sites and offices of various companies in the Helsinki metropolitan area. Yrityskylät and RaksaTET week will also be implemented this year.
Increasing the attractiveness of the sector is one of the key themes of RT's strategy and action plan. Cooperation with study counselors and various events aimed at young people, such as school meetings, open work sites and the Taitaja9 competition, are the core of long-term activities. In addition, we will continue to create joint attractiveness content for social media channels with member companies, both with new concepts and the Tuu teike perässä concept with new social media faces.
Thank you to all member companies who participated in the campaign and other joint attraction projects.
Special thanks to the social media faces involved in the Tuu teike perässa campaign, who inspired young people with their own examples to apply for studies in the field.
The advertising campaign reached the target audience well.
- The "Tuu will follow" advertising campaign was visible from December 15, 2025 to March 22, 2026.
- The primary channel was TikTok, with Snapchat, Instagram, and YouTube as supporting channels, all of which published both sponsored and organic content.
- The advertising video ran during the first week of the joint search in outdoor advertising on digital screens in the Helsinki metropolitan area and in the Turku and Tampere regions.
- The ads received approximately 21 million impressions on social media and approximately 2,2 million in outdoor advertising. The campaign reached 1,6 million people across different channels.
- The content generated approximately 9,000 reactions and the campaign page was clicked on nearly 72,000 times.
- LM Someco served as the creative partner for the campaign.
Watch all campaign videos on YouTube
See also
- News 10.12.2025: Construction industry joint application campaign encourages: Tuu follows suit
- News 10.12.2025: Additional strength for attraction work with new projects: Business Villages, ambassador program and TikTok channel
- News 4.2.2026: Tuu follows suit - joint search campaign delights in outdoor advertising in February
Elsewhere online
- Campaign videos on YouTube
- Construction Industry Channel on TikTok
- Joint Application 2026 campaign page
More information
Saku Lehtinen, leading expert, saku.lehtinen@rt.fi or tel. +358 40 041 2057
Janne Suntio, project manager, janne.suntio@rt.fi or tel. 050 449 7559
Sari Perento, Communications Manager, sari.perento@rt.fi or tel. +358 40 5616 728