Although the Finnish welfare state still has a high degree of publicly financed services for citizens, 'welfare restructuring' - including public education and health care - has taken place with tendencies toward decentralisation and a more market-oriented approach to service production and was especially strong in the 1990s. Changes in the labour market occurred and these have led to a situation where especially young female professionals are faced with temporary and short-term employment. Decision-making authority has been brought to the institutional level combined with evaluations of the services provided (new managerialism). Both teachers and nurses face new challenges and demands in their professional work due to multiculturalism, widening use of technology and cutbacks in financing. In health care, private care service providers have become more important in the welfare service and nurses have gained career possibilities as entrepreneurs. Restructuring has also affected the professional education of teachers and nurses. Nurse education takes place in polytechnics established in the 1990s as practically oriented higher education institutions. Schoolteachers gain their professional knowledge base in universities and graduate with a Master's degree in education. Some of the changes are discussed in the presentation.