Regional impact

Increase in the skill level and relief to the labor shortage

The University Consortium produces master's and doctorate degrees in the fields of information technology, educational sciences, business sciences, social work and applied chemistry. Those who graduate from the University Consortium are employed to a significant extent in Central Ostrobothnia and its surrounding regions, thus alleviating the labor shortage prevailing in the region.

When comparing the education level of the regions of Finland, using as a measure the share of those with at least a higher university degree among the employed working in the region, it can be stated that the education level has improved in all regions from 2010 onwards at a more or less constant pace. Central Ostrobothnia ranks as the sixth weakest among the regions in terms of education level. Of course, development has taken place in such a way that Central Ostrobothnia has surpassed Satakunta and Kainuu on the education level indicator in question. The University Consortium has had its own influence in this development.

Regional economic effects

In addition to the knowledge effects, the regional economic effects of the university consortium are significant. The University Consortium directly generates an economic value addition of around €5.7 million through its operations, which in practice means mainly amounts of money related to staff salaries. Taking into account the direct and indirect effects, the operation generates annual value-added effects of approximately €52 million (impact factor 9.1). Since university activities are fundamentally international and national, some of the regional economic effects spill over outside the region. In practice, this means that of the total effects of €52 million, approximately €34 million will be allocated to the region of Central Ostrobothnia and its neighboring counties, and approximately €19 million to the official region of Central Ostrobothnia.