For the past three years, Laurea University of Applied Sciences has offered a free MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) for anyone interested in human trafficking, available in both Finnish and English. This course has been highly popular, with approximately 1,000 students enrolling in 2023 and 2024. One of the main themes of the JeS project is to increase knowledge about human trafficking and thereby improve the situation and access to support for people in vulnerable positions. The course has also been offered to the JeS project implementers and their networks, and this offer is still available, so you are welcome to use this unique opportunity!

The course, “Identifying Human Trafficking in Security, Safety and Correctional Services,” consists of five modules:

1. What is Human Trafficking?
2. Types of Human Trafficking
3. Identifying Victims of Human Trafficking
4. Assisting Victims and Anti-Trafficking Efforts in Finland
5. Finland’s Fight Against Human Trafficking

The course is worth 2 ECTS credits. All topics are covered through presentations, video lectures, and knowledge tests. Upon completion, students will understand human trafficking as a phenomenon, including its various forms, recognise the characteristics of trafficking victims, know how to identify potential victims, and be able to assist them by utilizing the service system.
Student feedback on the course has been overwhelmingly positive. Students have learned to identify different forms of human trafficking and to understand its scope. This knowledge is especially important for professions that encounter trafficking victims. According to the feedback, it is crucial that the course provides concrete tools and methods to help and support trafficking victims. Students have gained knowledge about how to act if they encounter a potential victim in their work. They have also learned which organisations and authorities work to prevent human trafficking and how they can collaborate with these entities.

“The study unit opened my eyes to the world of human trafficking and the different ways it is practiced.”

“I learned a lot of new and useful information about human trafficking. I now know what tools to use to help potential victims of human trafficking.”

“I gained a great deal of new knowledge about how human trafficking manifests in Finland. Anyone you meet on the street could be a victim of trafficking. As a future social worker, it is important for me to know and recognize the features and aspects related to human trafficking.”

“The course helped lower the threshold for guiding potential victims of human trafficking to get help. It’s enough that concern arises—it’s always better to treat the issue with due seriousness than to leave a possible trafficking victim alone.”

The course will also be available next year in 2025. The current course is open until the end of this year. For more information and to register, kindly visit: