The training of conscripts is based on the joukkotuotanto principle (lit. English troop production). In this system, 80% of the conscripts train to fulfill a specific role in a specific wartime military unit. Each brigade-level unit has a responsibility of producing specified reserve units from the conscripts it has been allocated. As the reservists are discharged, they receive a specific wartime placement in the unit with which they have trained during their conscription. As the conscripts age, their unit is given new, different tasks and materiel. Typically, reservists are placed for the first five years in first-line units, then moved to military formations with less demanding tasks, while the reservists unable to serve in the unit are substituted with reservists from the reserve without specific placement. In refresher exercises, the unit is then given new training for these duties, if the defense budget permits this.Asevelvollisen pitkä marssi Ruotuväki 9/2004. Retrieved 11-19-2007. The cited source includes a very good overview of the system, paraphrased here.
