Reflections on the Kick-off Webinar - Where Finland Should Improve and What Can We All Do?
Guest post by Lucia Vuillermin, our opening speaker in the ‘Mapping the Landscape of International Talent in Finland’ Kick-off Webinar and a Vice-Chair of International Working Women of Finland Association
'Mapping the Landscape of International Talent in Finland’ Kick-off webinar organized by E2 Tutkimus / E2 Research took place on December 8th, 2021.
More than 120 participants attended the webinar!
My small role in the seminar was to bring my personal perspective in the topic of networking as a "talent spouse" myself and as a representative of the 3rd sector (Vice-Chair of International Working Women of Finland Ry )
I really appreciated the honesty of my fellow international talents when they expressed the difficulties for all of us entering the job market and the integration in general.
Following the chat, here are six points I would like to raise on international talent retention in Finland:
Finland should change its attitude towards migrants: we are part of the same eco-system, let’s support each other.
Networking should be more democratic: we should not create migrant Vs Finnish bubbles.
If a company doesn’t integrate the family of their employee, it has wasted resources and time to attract a talent. They will eventually leave.
The never-ending language problem. Yes, migrants should learn the language, but companies should not be afraid to welcome non-fluent speakers and teach them Finnish during their employment journey.
Companies cannot keep employing someone they already know, they should advertise those jobs and stop looking for unicorns, ninjas and superstars. Start recruiting human beings. You will be surprised by them!
The third sector cooperation is essential in the future: ask migrants themselves and stop making the decisions for us behind the closed doors.
I have high hope for this project, and I do hope this was the beginning of a collaboration where the voice of international talents will be taken into consideration more and more!
I am looking forward to hearing about the next steps.
Comments from our consortium partner, Chief Specialist Melissa Arni-Hardén from The City of Espoo’s Talent Espoo program, who was one of the panelists in the event:
”Talents who have moved to Finland because their partner got a job offer are an untapped and extremely valuable resource in the Finnish labor market. To support both socially and professionally rewarding onboarding to Finland, City of Espoo organizes events, meet-ups and peer groups where talents gain relevant knowledge, skills and networks.
We make sure that you get the opportunity to meet other spouses, but also that you widen your networks and interact with diverse groups of Talents, employers and local communities. This is a value adding service to employers as well since the adjustment of family is key in attracting and retaining employees that relocate to Finland.”