When the Skila cloth factory located in Rantakylä laid off workers as a result of increasing international competition, those who found themselves without a job were hard pressed to find a solution to their troubles. Finding work within the clothing industry seemed a slim prospect due to an increasing trend of companies within the industry to relocate to other countries in search of lower employment costs.

The only viable alternative seemed to be the creation of small business enterprises where the workers would in fact be self-employed. They decided to use their extensive professional skills and expertise in the field of sewing to provide sub-contracting services to the clothing industry. The objective was to begin in the area around Rantakylä and expand to other areas as business opportunities improved.

The creation of the Viis'tikki sewing company has successfully compensated for the loss of jobs in the local cloth factory. By assisting unemployed cloth factory workers in developing entrepreneurial initiatives, the URBAN programme has enabled the creation of several companies within the local sewing industry.

The unemployed cloth factory workers organised themselves into one company called Viis'tikki. This new company served more as a mother company which was itself divided into a group of smaller companies or self-employed business entities. Initially, five people began the project.

In the beginning of 1998, two entrepreneurs left the company but were replaced by two others during the course of 1999. The success of the Viis'tikki Sewing Company has lead to the creation of seven business names within the project and the workload has become such that apprentices have had to be hired for various tasks. Demand for the subcontracting work has been profitable and the prospects for the future are positive.

The success of the Viis'tikki project has created optimism within the community and has shown to those who lose their job that alternatives are available. Their achievement has often been praised by the mass media.

The URBAN programme has greatly helped these workers to become successful in their endeavour. It assists them in providing solutions to business-related problems and finances their activities by granting them investment subsidies. These subsidies will, however, ultimately be paid back by the entrepreneurs. Other co-operating partners in the project are Finnvera Oyj, the new Business Centre of Eastern Finland and the Employment Office.

The project was supported by the URBAN Programme of the EU.

Carelian
Ilkka Nykänen, tel. +358 13 267 5293

//1998

case

Urban Policy > Economy knowledge & employment > Urban economy

Business support