Tredu vocational instructor dismissed after repeated sexual misconduct toward students and colleagues

A vocational instructor at Tredu in Tampere was dismissed on October 24 after multiple complaints about sexually tinged and inappropriate behaviour toward female students and colleagues, YLE reports.

He held a permanent vocational guidance post from 2021 and also worked hourly substitute shifts in the aviation field between 2021 and 2023. Head of vocational education Kirsi Viskari signed the dismissal after city officials reviewed several complaints.

Reported incidents included squeezing students' cheeks, touching a student's head and hair, placing a foot on a student's foot, grabbing a student's waist and putting a hand in a student's back pocket while touching their buttocks. He also made crude comments and criticised a student's appearance. Female colleagues described unwanted closeness, shoulder pats, requests for kisses, hugging and pelvic-area touching.

The employer judged the conduct serious enough to justify dismissal without prior warning, and offered the employee a hearing during the termination process. No new information emerged that would have altered the decision. The instructor has a two-month notice period.