Regional companies align on goals to boost the security workforce

Text and photos: Petri Kangas / Business Tampere

“Stakeholders in the Tampere region have clearly identified the needs and outlined a vision of where they want to go,” says Juha Ala-Laurila, CEO of Unikie, a developer of intelligent software solutions.

On Monday 27 October 2025 the SafeSkills project invited stakeholders to a meeting focused on improving the regional availability of skilled workforce in the field of security and related industries.

“There was excellent dialogue on how we could seize business and employment opportunities – and most importantly, how we can do it together,” Ala-Laurila notes.

Running from 2025 to 2029, the project supports European regions in meeting workforce and competence needs related to security. “It’s a great and comprehensive consortium. We expect fruitful discussions especially with education providers,” says a representative of Cinia, a state-owned company offering network, cybersecurity and software services.

Different regions, different needs

Alongside the Tampere region, the project involves partners and regional developers from across Europe: the City of Barcelona (Spain), Provence–Alpes–Côte d’Azur (France), the Paris-based European Forum for Urban Security, the Rzeszow Regional Development Agency (Poland) and the Regional Development Agency of Odesa Region (Southern Ukraine).

Each region is different, and so are their security needs. One of the guiding frameworks in the Tampere region is the Pirkanmaa Regional Programme, now entering its renewal phase at the turn of the year.

Participants noted that the specific nature of the security sector can make recruitment more complex.

Many roles require not only technical skills but also a security clearance, and in several workplaces a physical presence is mandatory. Even the office environment must meet higher security standards than a conventional workplace.

At the same time, the employer brand in the security field has gained a new tone in recent years: work environments now emphasise learning, community and a clear sense of purpose. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was identified as an important factor influencing workforce motivation – bringing a sense of meaning to everyday work.

“Of course many recruitment processes aim to find experienced professionals, but we have also onboarded recent graduates and students in their final study stages through our own Cinia Boost Academy,” the company notes, adding:

“Nowadays it’s essential that information security is built into all related education – for example in software development and networking studies.”

A whole-of-society approach to security

“I followed the discussion from an industry perspective – how technology relates to society’s ability to act. Comprehensive security concerns everyone, and each of us must identify our own role,” reflects Kari Mettälä, Senior Sales Manager at Agco Power.

At its Linnavuori plant in Nokia, the company manufactures diesel engines for agricultural machinery, and at its Tesoma site in Tampere, backup power systems and diesel generators.

“Reconstruction of Ukraine is emerging as a key topic – as is preparedness in the energy sector. Preparedness, security of supply and societal resilience are needed everywhere,” says Mettälä.

Both Agco Power and Unikie representatives noted that their customers export a large share of their products abroad. According to Ala-Laurila, exports account for 60 percent of Unikie’s revenue. Cinia added that it would be interesting to learn from other regions how the availability of security experts has been ensured and what kinds of training programmes exist there.

“Our major export-driven clients in Pirkanmaa are key partners, and our international outlook was also recognised with an internationalisation award from the President of the Republic, Alexander Stubb, last November,” Ala-Laurila adds.

Of the project’s partner regions, Poland is of particular interest to Unikie – the company already operates there.

In addition to companies, the SafeSkills stakeholder network includes higher education institutions in the Tampere region, such as Tampere University and Tampere University of Applied Sciences, as well as research centres and institutes like VTT.