Call-up system to be extended to whole age group – three municipalities to pilot information days in autumn

Call-up system to be extended to whole age group - three municipalities to pilot information days in autumn

The Finnish call-up process will have two parts in the future. The first part will be a call-up information day for the whole age group, providing young people with more information about homeland defence. The second part, the call-up day proper, will be organised later for men liable for military service and for women applying for voluntary military service. The call-up information day will be piloted in Espoo, Iisalmi and Jyväskylä in autumn 2026. The primary goal is to give young people a firmer basis of knowledge about homeland defence, provide answers to their questions and help them to prepare for the call-up process and military service.

The call-up information day, open to all 17-year-olds, will take place at the general upper secondary schools and vocational institutions of the municipalities involved in the pilot project. During the day, young people will learn about homeland defence, conscription and comprehensive security. They will also receive advice on how to improve their wellbeing. The information day aims to increase the number of those who complete military service and strengthen young people's will to defend their country. It will help young men to better understand their obligations once they become liable for call-up and raise young women's awareness of voluntary military service for women and advise them on how to apply for it. In addition, a broader societal objective is to promote the wellbeing and functional capacity of young people and to prevent social exclusion.

"The call-up information day will ensure that the whole age group is included in the call-up process and receives necessary information before the call-up events and the selection events for voluntary military service for women. In this way young people will have a better understanding of the homeland defence obligation, total defence and comprehensive security," says Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.

The pilot project for call-up information days is the first step in the process of introducing the two-part call-up process across the country. The project will test how well the information days work in different regions and educational institutions. The new process is scheduled to be scaled up to the regional and national level in 2027-2028.

The call-up information days are part of a call-up system reform outlined in a parliamentary committee report (2021), the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government (2023) and a final report of a working group for the development of call-ups (2024). The call-up system reform aims to address the issues of shrinking age cohorts and the lowering levels of functional capacity among young people. The call-up day proper will be organised at a later date.

The pilot project is a collaboration of the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Finnish Defence Forces and the National Defence Training Association of Finland as well as the municipalities and education providers involved in the project.

Inquiries

• Thomas Gentz, Senior Staff Officer, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 055
• Kati Lounema, Director, Ministry of Education and Culture, tel. +358 295 330 037