Vocational rehabilitation assessment – support in finding job options

A vocational rehabilitation assessment may help you find a field of work or study that is a good fit for you if a medical condition or a disability has significantly diminished your ability to work or study.

A vocational rehabilitation assessment is one of the many vocational rehabilitation services Kela can offer. Read more about vocational rehabilitation for young persons if you are 16–29 and your functional capacity has declined significantly for some other reason than a medical condition or disability and you do not have a job or a place of study.

What is a vocational rehabilitation assessment?

A vocational rehabilitation assessment can help you find new job options. During the assessment, you will work together with experts to look for jobs that suit you, considering your health, skills and life situation.

A vocational rehabilitation assessment is not an assessment of your health.

The assessment is free of charge for you.

Who is the assessment for?

A vocational rehabilitation assessment may be a good option for you if

• you are a young person or an adult of working age
• you do not have clear plans for a job or studies
• you need help from an expert to find the right kind of work for you
• you want to find solutions that will help you further your education or find work.

What is the assessment like?

Your vocational rehabilitation assessment will proceed in stages:

1. During the initial assessment (2–4 days), your functional capacity and life situation will be assessed. The aim is to gain a good understanding of what measures would best support your ability to work or study and your rehabilitation.
2. A follow-up assessment (6–8 days) will be made if necessary. The follow-up assessment focuses more on your goals and finding suitable job or study options in cooperation with various actors if necessary.
3. You will also have a follow-up session to talk about how your vocational plan is progressing, and you will get support for making progress on your plan if necessary. If you have not made any progress, a follow-up meeting and a consultation with your network will be scheduled for you. Your network can include services such as healthcare providers, occupational healthcare providers, student welfare services or student health services.

During your rehabilitation assessment, you will work together with experts to find job options that are suited for your health, skills and life situation. During the assessment, you will

• meet with various experts
• discuss your situation, goals and expectations
• complete tasks and answer surveys that will help assess your situation
• work together with experts to understand what kinds of services you need
• learn about various options and services.

You will also work together with experts to make a vocational plan. The plan contains practical suggestions and alternatives for how you can enter working life or start studies. If necessary, the experts will tell you about other useful services you can contact, such as other forms of rehabilitation or the employment services.

How to apply

If you want to apply for a vocational rehabilitation assessment, you need a medical statement B (B-lausunto) from a doctor or some other kind of medical documentation that has the same information as a medical statement B.

Once you have a medical statement B or other medical documentation, do as follows:

1. Fill in the application form for vocational rehabilitation KU 101e (PDF).

   • Save the blank form to your device. Do not fill in the form directly in the browser because some of the information may not be saved that way.
   • Open the form with Adobe Reader and fill it in.
   • Tell us in the application which service provider’s rehabilitation you want to participate in. Use Kela’s service provider search to look up rehabilitation service providers (available in Finnish and Swedish).
   • Save the completed application form on your device. Note that the application must be in PDF format.
2. Send the application in the OmaKela e-service (available in Finnish and Swedish).

   • Log in to OmaKela and select Tee hakemus (Submit an application).
   • First select Sairastaminen ja kuntoutus (Sickness and rehabilitation). Then select Kuntoutus – tee hakemus (Rehabilitation – Submit an application). Finally, select Ammatillinen kuntoutus (Vocational rehabilitation).
   • If you send your application in OmaKela, you do not need to sign it.
3. If you have supporting documents, send them via OmaKela after you have submitted your application. If they are paper documents, you can photograph them.

   • Send us a copy of your medical statement B or other medical documentation as a supporting document with your application.
4. Visit OmaKela to see if Kela has made a decision on your application. We will also send the decision notice to the rehabilitation service provider. This tells the service provider that Kela will pay for your rehabilitation, and the service provider will reserve a place for you on the rehabilitation course.

If you cannot use OmaKela, mail your application to Kela. Save the form to your device and fill it in after saving it. Print out the completed form and send it and any supporting documents to Kela, PL 10, 00056 KELA.

Let us know if you cannot attend the vocational rehabilitation assessment

Remember to tell Kela immediately if you cannot participate in the vocational rehabilitation assessment. Let us know that you have to cancel by sending a message to us in the OmaKela e-service or by calling our customer service number for rehabilitation clients.

We recommend that you also contact the service provider to let them know you have to cancel.

Check if you can get rehabilitation allowance and travel cost reimbursements

Kela pays rehabilitation allowance to give you financial security during rehabilitation. Kela may also reimburse you for rehabilitation-related travel costs.