Building skills for future-ready employers - project seeks solutions to the mismatch problem in Finland's labor market by enhancing employers' competencies. There is a skills gap particularly in underutilizing the potential of a diverse workforce, recruitment expertise, and recognizing future change needs in a dynamic work environment. The project's aim is to focus on developing the foresight capabilities of key personnel in employer organizations, streamlining recruitment processes, and identifying skill needs within work communities, while also leveraging diversity. Additionally, the project aims to create tools for future employment sectors to identify the diverse needs of working life. The project has defined three sub-goals: Strengthening Employers’ Future-readiness The first goal is to enhance employers' understanding of the characteristics of a future-ready employer and employee needs to ensure attraction and retention, and to provide concrete tools for daily operations. It also aims to strengthen the regular dialogue between employers, educational institutions, and employment services to solve the mismatch problem. Enhancing Recruitment Expertise The second goal is to improve and develop the recruitment skills of key personnel in companies, utilizing practices based on design thinking, which support the identification of a diverse workforce, enhance employer branding, and improve attraction and retention to foster regional growth and ensure the availability of skilled labor. Strengthening the Ability to Identify and Anticipate Skills Needs The third goal aims to improve the ability of employers and employees to recognize skills, enabling them to anticipate future skill needs and effectively utilize a diverse workforce in rapidly changing work environments. The objectives will be achieved through three content-driven work packages focusing on deepening cooperation between employer organizations, educational institutions, and employment services. As a result of the project, new competencies will emerge related to future-readiness, employee understanding, recruitment expertise, employer branding, skills identification, and foresight. These competencies will be increased and shared through participatory workshops, webinars, peer learning groups, and by compiling tools for everyday use. Additionally, the project will pilot a cooperation model between new employment services, higher education institutions, and working life. Participants will also gather and generate knowledge by examining their organizations' practices, and they will receive peer support and information on how to implement practices and tools as part of long-term development. The tools and models developed during the project will be made available nationwide for open use. In the long term, companies’ ability to attract and retain skilled employees will improve, and they will more broadly recognize the opportunities offered by diverse talent profiles. The work-life model developed in the project, which takes employment needs into account, will improve the match between job seekers and employers. As employers commit more to anticipating skill needs and start implementing it systematically as part of their operations, it will prevent labor shortages. Ultimately, this will improve the functionality of Finland's labor market and help organizations adapt to changes in working life. The project’s lead partner is Jamk University of Applied Sciences, with Novia University of Applied Sciences and LAB University of Applied Sciences as co-implementers.