A new InstituteQ report unveils the anticipated growth of the Finnish quantum workforce over the coming decade and outlines the types of educational and training activities necessary to meet the needs of Finland’s burgeoning quantum industrial and research ecosystem.
HELSINKI, Finland — In recognition of World Quantum Day and the International Year of Quantum, InstituteQ – in partnership with Cygnus Quantum Oy – released on April 14 a 10-year forecast of the Finnish quantum workforce in a new report titled “The Quantum Science and Technology Workforce in Finland 2035.”
Via exhaustive interviews with over 30 experts in the field, the key findings of the report highlight the current status of the Finnish quantum workforce, project growth trends of the industry in the coming decade, and underscore the training and education needs to get there.
“Finland’s longstanding expertise in quantum science and technology is arriving at a tipping point. The future needs of the industry and potential end users are coming into focus, and we find ourselves at the unique moment in time where – through collective cooperation – we can educate and retrain our workforce to realize Finland’s full potential as a leader in the field,” says InstituteQ Director Jukka Pekola, a physics professor at Aalto University.
“Finnish companies, research institutes and universities have together set the stage for a national quantum ecosystem. Now is the right time to ask what type of skills we need in the future to stay as leaders in this demanding but potentially very rewarding field. This report plots a path forward for how to meet the workforce needs of this growing industry over the next 10 years,” says Dr. Tommi Tenkanen, CEO of Cygnus Quantum Oy and the leading author of the report.
The report places the present-day Finnish quantum workforce at 1,550 employees, of which 550 are employed in the research and higher education sector. If growth trends develop as anticipated, the number of individuals employed directly in the quantum science and technology industry is projected to reach roughly 4,200 individuals by 2035 – creating almost 3,000 new jobs in the quantum technology sector alone.
This growth will require a proportional increase in newly educated and retrained individuals entering the workforce, as well as skilled talent coming from outside of Finland. The report estimates that to account for the growth of the industry’s direct needs, the annual training volume would need to increase from 150 individuals in 2024 to 250 individuals in the years 2030-2035. The bulk of this necessary increase should come from workforce retraining programmes.
“InstituteQ’s education working group (EduQ) has been fast at work organizing cross-institutional degree pathways, an industrial doctoral programme and open-access training modules for industry and the general public alike. Our educational repertoire directly includes seven Finnish higher education institutions as part of the national Quantum Doctoral Pilot Programme (QDOC). This report commissioned by EduQ provides us with both strategic and tactical information necessary for scaling up a trained Finnish quantum workforce,” says EduQ operational lead Kimmo Tuominen, a physics professor at the University of Helsinki.
“The Finnish quantum industrial ecosystem is strong, getting stronger. In order to maximize Finland’s potential for a quantum-supreme future, an equally strong workforce is absolutely necessary. Importantly, an increase in workforce retraining opportunities is a necessity, as outlined in the report,” says VTT’s Matti Palomäki, who leads InstituteQ’s innovation operations.
The report summarizes its findings by making recommendations to key stakeholders in Finland, particularly for policy-makers, quantum technology developers, quantum technology end users and higher education institutions, which can be found on page 28 of the report. The report can be downloaded in full below:
InstituteQ – The Finnish Quantum Institute is a joint initiative founded by Aalto University, the University of Helsinki, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd. in 2021.
The goal of InstituteQ is to raise the readiness of Finnish society for the disruptive potential and implications quantum technologies will have for society and the economy at large. By teaming up expertise and resources, InstituteQ aims to carry, implement and mutually benefit from front line research, education, innovations, and infrastructures, that form the competitive edge for the Finnish community in the quantum era.
Cygnus Quantum Oy is a management consultancy based in Finland. Founded in 2024, the company specializes in strategy, funding, and analytics in deep tech & education and has a special focus on quantum technology in the Nordic region. The company serves both public and private sector organizations.
