I have been the Director General of the National Land Survey of Finland (NLS) for a little over six months now. These have been remarkable months – just as I expected them to be. My key goal during these first six months was to get to know our employees, stakeholders and colleagues in different agencies. I have met some 1,400 NLS employees in person, from south to north and from west to east. These meetings were important to me, and the feedback I was given also showed that our employees considered them to be necessary. My meetings with other directors and permanent secretaries have also been important, emphasising the multisectoral expertise of the NLS and broad cooperation across administrative fields.

Good and productive operations are based on skilled, motivated and highly committed employees. According to the 2022 personnel report, the average age at the NLS was 47.5 years and the average retirement age was 65 years, both indications of excellent commitment. Job satisfaction has also been above 4 (on a scale from 1 to 5) for several years now. The broad scope of the NLS requires diverse expertise. In 2022, the NLS recruited 190 new employees to fill vacant and new positions. Currently, the NLS has nearly 1,800 employees in total.

A third of our activities funded from the Government budget

Funding is a prerequisite to maintain and develop our activities. The NLS has an annual budget of EUR 140–150 million. Fees charged from customers for cadastral surveying, including parcelling, private road surveys and demarcations, as well as information entered in the Residential and Commercial Property Information System, account for EUR 90–100 million. A third is covered by the Government budget.

Until now, the NLS has developed and modernised its activities through available funding, but the changes in the public economy are also reflected in our income flows. We are also waiting for the new Government to start its term and define its new programme. What measures will be taken to stabilise the economy? Will there be legal amendments to promote productivity? These questions are expected to be answered in a few weeks when the new Government is formed and the preparation of its programme gets underway.

Pasi Patrikainen

The author is the Director-General of the National Land Survey of Finland.

In the National Land Survey of Finland blog, different authors discuss various matters topical to the National Land Survey of Finland.