The National Archives

The National Archives Service is a state authority operating under the Ministry of Education and Culture. It is the duty of the National Archives Service to ensure that records belonging to national cultural heritage are preserved and to promote their use for research. Its duties also include research and development in the field. For its part, the National Archives Service is responsible for ensuring that a genuine and probative picture of the social reality of each era is preserved for research.

The National Archives Service consists of the National Archives and the seven Provincial Archives operating under it. The National Archives developed from the Senate archives founded in 1816. The first provincial archives were established in the early decades of the 20th century.

The National Archives Service employs approximately 200 individuals in different locations around Finland. In addition to the National Archives located in Helsinki, the Archives Service has regional archives in Hämeenlinna, Joensuu, Jyväskylä, Mikkeli, Oulu, Turku, Vaasa and the Sámi Archives belonging to the National Archives in Inari.

Typical job descriptions within the Archives Service include senior inspector, researcher, development manager, information service secretary, digitiser, conservator, expert and planner. According to our statistics, approximately 50 per cent of our staff have higher education qualification,s and approximately 6 per cent of our staff have researcher qualifications. Most typical are qualifications in the field of history. Digitisers and conservators usually have polytechnic qualifications.

The National Archives Service coordinates document and archives management, is responsible for the general development of the archives sector and provides regulations detailing what state and municipal management documents must be permanently preserved.  The official document management and archivingprocesses are supported by drawing up regulations and guidelines.

The National Archives Service accepts and preserves state authority documents for permanent preservation. In addition, the National Archives Service obtains and preserves private archives which are significant for society and research. The National Archives Service ensures the availability of preserved documents by making them available at researcher rooms and increasingly also online. The National Archives Service is the most important national expert organisation in the life-cycle management of documentary information, is part of the research infrastructure, and is an information service facility that takes the increasingly international nature of the operating environment into account in its operations.

Work duties at the National Archives Service are varied and demanding, and offer a vantage point to the document and archives sector. We are a reliable and responsible employer. We take care of the well-being of our work community and provide opportunities to undertake continuous learning.