Information package: Vocational rehabilitation
This information package provides an overview of trends in the number of recipients and in expenditure on vocational rehabilitation arranged by Kela. It also looks at the other benefits and services provided to recipients of vocational rehabilitation.
In 2025, vocational rehabilitation was provided to about 23,000 people, the equivalent of about 0.5% of the population aged 16 or over. In 2025, a total of EUR 90 million was spent on rehabilitation allowances paid during vocational rehabilitation, and the total expenditure on services was EUR 45 million.
The largest age group among recipients of vocational rehabilitation is people aged 16 to 35. There are more women than men among the recipients. The highest recipient rates are seen in North Karelia, North Savo and North Ostrobothnia.
Vocational rehabilitation arranged by Kela
Kela arranges vocational rehabilitation for people of working age who are either outside working life or have only recently started work and who have an illness that impacts their ability to work or study or is likely to do so in the next few years. Rehabilitation goals may include choosing an occupation, finding employment, remaining in work or returning to work despite an illness.
More information on what the vocational rehabilitation services entail is available on Kela’s website. The rehabilitation services comprise the following:
- vocational rehabilitation assessment
- education and training
- work try-out
- job coaching
- Kiila rehabilitation for persons who are working
- training try-out
- assistive devices
- self-employment grant
Kela also pays young persons rehabilitation allowance for young persons and provides access to vocational rehabilitation for young persons. The recipients of these two benefits are not shown in the figures in this information package.
Number of people receiving vocational rehabilitation
In 2025, vocational rehabilitation services were provided to about 23,000 people.
The number of people receiving vocational rehabilitation continued to increase until 2021 but has been decreasing since then.
In 2010–2025, the highest number of recipients was recorded in 2021, when just under 28,000 people received vocational rehabilitation.
Since 2022, the number of recipients has declined particularly among people under the age of 25. In the age group 16 to 24, the number of recipients was nearly 10,000 in 2022, compared with some 8,000 in 2023, about 7,000 in 2024 and 6,000 in 2025.
In 2025, about 14,000 of the recipients were women while some 9,000 were men. Vocational rehabilitation was provided in the form of education and training to nearly 11,000 recipients, while nearly 13,000 people received it in the form of rehabilitation services.
In 2025, 0.48% of the total Finnish population aged 16 or over received vocational rehabilitation.
Number of people receiving vocational rehabilitation who also receive rehabilitation allowance
In 2025, about 16,300 people received rehabilitation allowance while participating in vocational rehabilitation. This number has increased in recent years.
In 2025, rehabilitation allowance was paid to about 9,700 people during education and training and to about 6,800 people during rehabilitation services.
The number of people receiving rehabilitation allowance during education or training has seen a consistent increase. By contrast, the number of people who were paid rehabilitation allowance while receiving rehabilitation services grew until 2019 but then dropped in both 2020 and 2021. The number of recipients has been growing again since 2022.
| Year | Total number of recipients | Recipients in education and training | Recipients receiving rehabilitation services |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 9,779 | 3,253 | 6,768 |
| 2016 | 10,442 | 3,508 | 7,172 |
| 2017 | 10,992 | 3,870 | 7,409 |
| 2018 | 10,706 | 4,160 | 6,835 |
| 2019 | 12,264 | 4,937 | 7,549 |
| 2020 | 10,595 | 5,407 | 5,311 |
| 2021 | 10,796 | 5,920 | 4,994 |
| 2022 | 11,673 | 6,511 | 5,285 |
| 2023 | 14,031 | 7,861 | 6,323 |
| 2024 | 15,772 | 9,249 | 6,701 |
| 2025 | 16,298 | 9,718 | 6,797 |
Expenditure on vocational rehabilitation services
In 2025, a total of EUR 90 million was spent on rehabilitation allowances paid during vocational rehabilitation, and the total expenditure on services was EUR 45 million.
Of the EUR 90 million expenditure on rehabilitation allowances, a little over EUR 76 million went to people in education and training and a little under EUR 14 million to people receiving rehabilitation services.
| Year | Total number of recipients | Persons in education or training | Persons receiving rehabilitation services |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 26,222,947 | 15,874,904 | 10,348,044 |
| 2016 | 29,410,151 | 18,032,343 | 11,377,808 |
| 2017 | 33,353,163 | 21,200,717 | 12,152,446 |
| 2018 | 36,019,719 | 23,836,639 | 12,183,080 |
| 2019 | 41,668,990 | 29,046,689 | 12,622,301 |
| 2020 | 43,677,976 | 36,285,290 | 7,392,686 |
| 2021 | 47,818,702 | 39,834,920 | 7,983,783 |
| 2022 | 54,384,478 | 45,992,467 | 8,392,011 |
| 2023 | 77,468,272 | 62,209,319 | 15,258,953 |
| 2024 | 89,932,188 | 73,153,813 | 16,778,375 |
| 2025 | 89,879,084 | 76,259,568 | 13,619,516 |
In 2025, the costs for vocational rehabilitation services amounted to a little under EUR 45 million, of which EUR 2.3 million went to education and training and EUR 42.3 million to rehabilitation services.
Highest recipient rates of vocational rehabilitation by region
In 2025, the highest recipient rates of vocational rehabilitation were seen in North Karelia (0.97%), North Savo (0.71%) and North Ostrobothnia (0.67%), with the number of recipients adjusted to the population aged 16 or over.
The lowest rates in mainland Finland were recorded in Kymenlaakso (0.28%), South Karelia (0.29%) and Uusimaa (0.3%).
Most common age for recipients of vocational rehabilitation
The number of recipients of vocational rehabilitation is higher among young adults than among other age groups.
Most recipients of vocational rehabilitation are between the ages of 16 and 34. The explanation is that the majority of people receiving vocational rehabilitation in the form of education and training are young adults.
Meanwhile, the number of people receiving rehabilitation services is highest among those aged 55 or over and second highest among people between the ages of 45 and 54.
Other benefits paid to recipients of vocational rehabilitation
Recipients of vocational rehabilitation for young persons are also often paid other benefits.
This is also common among recipients of other benefits; many people receive more than one social security benefit at the same time.
Half of the recipients of vocational rehabilitation (50%) had used psychotropic medicines. Two out of five (39%) had a right to a special rate of reimbursement for at least one prescription medicine. About 16% had purchased ADHD medications.
General housing allowance was paid to about half (47%) of all vocational rehabilitation recipients. Basic social assistance was paid to 32% of the recipients and Kela unemployment benefits to 33% of them. Sickness allowance was paid to 19% of the recipients and student financial aid to 9% of them.
Reimbursements for private healthcare appointments were paid to 21% of all recipients of vocational rehabilitation and reimbursements for dental care to 9% of them. Twenty per cent received reimbursements for travel costs. Eleven per cent received child benefit.
Some recipients of vocational rehabilitation were also paid rehabilitation allowance or other Kela benefits in 2025 or received some other type of rehabilitation arranged by Kela. More detailed recipient figures are found in the table.
| Benefit | Percentage of all recipients of vocational rehabilitation | Number of persons |
|---|---|---|
| Psychotropic medicines | 50.29 | 11,556 |
| General housing allowance (paid to the recipient or their partner) | 46.65 | 10,719 |
| Currently entitled to a special rate of reimbursement for at least one prescription medicine | 38.91 | 8,940 |
| Unemployment benefits paid by Kela | 32.59 | 7,488 |
| Basic social assistance | 32.47 | 7,461 |
| Labour market subsidy | 30.66 | 7,044 |
| Doctors’ fees | 20.69 | 4,755 |
| Travel costs | 20.02 | 4,600 |
| Any sickness allowance benefit | 19.34 | 4,443 |
| Sickness allowance | 18.80 | 4,320 |
| ADHD medicines | 16.39 | 3,766 |
| Child benefit | 11.21 | 2,576 |
| Dental care | 9.31 | 2,139 |
| Rehabilitative psychotherapy | 9.26 | 2,128 |
| Disability benefits | 9.17 | 2,107 |
| Student financial aid | 8.70 | 1,998 |
| Discretionary rehabilitation | 6.39 | 1,468 |
| Examination and treatment | 6.23 | 1,431 |
| Rehabilitation allowance, Rehabilitation allowance for young persons | 5.13 | 1,179 |
| Intensive medical rehabilitation | 5.12 | 1,176 |
| Rehabilitation allowance, No information on legal basis of eligibility | 4.06 | 933 |
| Kela disability pension | 3.74 | 860 |
| Basic unemployment allowance | 2.75 | 632 |
| Rehabilitation allowance under the Act on Kela Rehabilitation | 2.41 | 553 |
| Child home care allowance | 0.37 | 85 |
| Conscript’s allowance | 0.13 | 31 |
| Rehabilitation allowance, Health Care Act (work trial) | 0.05 | 12 |
| Rehabilitation allowance, Health Care Act (rehabilitation for substance abuse) | 0.03 | 8 |
| Rehabilitation allowance, Social Welfare Act (rehabilitation for substance abuse) | 0.03 | 7 |
| Rehabilitation allowance, Health Care Act | 0.03 | 7 |
| Rehabilitation allowance, Child Welfare Act | 0.02 | 5 |
| Rehabilitation allowance, Occupational Health Care Act | 0.01 | 2 |
Legislative amendments with an effect on vocational rehabilitation
Kela monitors and assesses the effects that legislative amendments have for example on the paths that people take to vocational rehabilitation. Below are some of the legislative amendments that have had an effect on vocational rehabilitation.
Legislative amendments with an effect on the vocational rehabilitation arranged by Kela (Section 6):
- Act on Rehabilitation Arranged by Kela (610/1991, repealed, in Finnish): vocational rehabilitation was arranged under this act from its enactment on 1 October 1991.
- Act on Rehabilitation Benefits and Rehabilitation Allowance Benefits Granted by Kela (566/2005, in Finnish)
- Amendment effective 1 January 2014, concerning provisions on vocational rehabilitation: the requirement of impending unemployment was abolished; a reduced ability to study and consideration of the customers’ overall circumstances were added as new qualifying criteria. A reference to the primacy of vocational rehabilitation arranged under the Act on Public Employment and Business Service was removed.
- Amendment effective 1 January 2017: Kela must determine the customers’ eligibility for not only the rehabilitation allowance for young persons but also for education and training as a vocational rehabilitation measure.
- Amendment effective 1 January 2019: text was added (section 7a) concerning the provision of vocational rehabilitation for young persons as a statutory responsibility of Kela and the qualifying criteria and substance of vocational rehabilitation for young persons. Under the added section, vocational rehabilitation for young persons is arranged for people aged 16–29 whose functional capacity is significantly impaired and who are in need of rehabilitation. A diagnosis of an illness or disability is not required. Further, the rehabilitation must be appropriate to supporting and promoting the customers’ functional capacity, life mastery and capability to study or find employment.
- Amendment effective 1 January 2023: a provision was added to section 6 pertaining to the vocational rehabilitation arranged by Kela, clarifying the responsibilities around the provision of vocational rehabilitation. It set aside the requirement for Kela to arrange vocational rehabilitation for an insured person who had a valid preliminary decision on their right to rehabilitation under the earnings-related pension laws.
- Amendment effective 1 January 2024: the minimum rates of the rehabilitation allowance for young persons and the allowance paid during vocational rehabilitation were reduced to align with the minimum rate of other rehabilitation allowances (and of the sickness allowance). In addition, the formula used to calculate the rehabilitation allowance payable during vocational rehabilitation was adjusted to bring the allowance down to the level of other rehabilitation allowances and of the sickness allowance.
- Amendment effective 1 January 2025: vocational rehabilitation for young persons is targeted more effectively at young people who are not in school or work or who are otherwise at risk of exclusion. No rehabilitation allowance is available during participation in Nuotti coaching. The minimum age limit for rehabilitation allowance was raised to 18 years (for those born in 2008 or before, the age limit is 16 years).
