Finland must stop wasting its international talent potential

Sonja Hämäläinen, Migration Director from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, emphasised that Finland needs immigration as the solution to demographic challenges.

– Immigration is not only about us helping people who move here. We must identify the skills they have and find out how to benefit from their talent, she said.

Hämäläinen pointed out that it is not only Finland that has demographic challenges and can benefit greatly from immigration. Western countries are in international competition for talent. The better multicultural working life Finland has to offer, the better it will do in this competition.

Companies should create fair and inclusive HRM policies 

Aulikki Sippola, Diversity Management Specialist from CR network FIBS, spoke about diversity and including management. According to Sippola, companies should create fair, inclusive HRM policies, processes and practices. Business leaders must understand that people are different and they are also motivated in different ways.

– Diversity is a fact, but inclusion is a choice. Inclusion is not beneficial only for people who come from different cultures but it is beneficial for everybody. None of us is the “average person”, she reminded.

There is too much unused talent

Niko Ferm, Secretary General from Aalto University Student Union, has been studying the employability of international graduates in the field of technology and business. 

– In my study, I found out that the two major challenges for foreign job seekers in Finland are lack of Finnish language skills and the right networks. Finnish graduates have had their whole life to create networks, whereas international students only spend two to four years in the university creating networks while studying.

He also learned that many people come to Finland because studying is free and they can study in English. The quality of research is also an important factor for many international students who arrive in Finland.

After studies about 77 percent of international graduates would like to stay and work in Finland. However, only 50 percent of all international higher education graduates are employed.

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Watch all the presentations and panels online: https://tem.videosync.fi/2017-01-31-workup

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