The commission on journalists’ training has proposed that the Ministry of Education and Culture conduct a review into the training requirements in the area of journalism and communications for the period 2016 – 2021.The commission, made up of representatives of the UJF, tertiary institutions and the public broadcaster, submitted its proposal to culture and education minister Sanni Grahn-Laasonen in late April.The proposal calls for a review of the state of employment among communications studies graduates, the skills needed in the sector in the future and appropriate number of enrolments and qualifications sought.The aim is to introduce greater planning in journalism and communications training in line with changes in the sector. A review of the situation is needed, the committee believes, because the last extensive survey of the situation was done some ten years ago. At the time, it was found that training outweighed the labour market demand for journalists and media workers. Nowadays, graduate numbers are less but there are also fewer jobs in journalism.In its letter to Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, the advisory committee states that the review would make it possible to determine the specific measures as a basis for educational policy decisions.Nina Porra, head of training at the UJF, says that the issue underlying the call for the review is not lack of information but its fragmentary nature.“There are studies carried out, but they tend to ask different things and the information is difficult to compare. When there’s more commensurate information on what communications training results in, it will be possible to design it more efficiently,” explains Nina Porra.