The world’s happiest nation realises now the need for non-EU professional workers. Minister of Finance Saarikko wants a lot more foreign workers to come to Finland and calls for a change in attitude from the government. Finland will be in need of a massive number of blue-collar immigrants. Alone the health sector will need 30,000 new employees in a decade time. The country is foreseeing recruiting professionals in the health, social care, public transport, agriculture, IT, and some other sectors.
Immigration goals of Finland
Work-related immigration could improve Finland’s employment and bring economic growth. Doubling labor migration is one of the government’s key employment goals (which would mean 10,000 additional jobs compared to the current level). In 2019, the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) granted almost 9,500 first work permits to foreign workers (non-EU).
The government has listed several ways to promote labor migration. These include speeding up the processing of residence permit applications. This year, the government also intends to propose an extension of the student’s residence permit after graduation to two years.
According to Annika Saarikko, Finland needs both highly qualified and skilled workers. Furthermore, she said, many professional sectors would not be able to cope up with the demanding needs of the labor market without foreign workers.
Why does Finland need foreign workers?
The number of elderly people in care in Finland is growing. The nation of 5.5 million has 39% of its shrinking workforce currently over 65. In the social and health care sector alone, there is a need for 30,000 new caregivers by the end of the current decade.
The fact is that in Finland, agriculture, primary production, the social sector, or even public transport in the Helsinki metropolitan area might badly be hit in the near future. This simply means these sectors would not run without foreign workers, Saarikko says.
Why Finland’s skilled immigration program is not famous?
According to the country’s finance minister, bureaucracy is still slowing down work-related immigration. On the other hand, many politicians have been talking for years about the importance of work-related immigration, but there has been no significant increase in the number of people coming to work in Finland.
It can be difficult for a foreigner to obtain a work-related residence permit in Finland, even if the job is known and the Finnish company is ready to hire. Finnish international companies have repeatedly highlighted the excessive processing times of residence permits.
Finland is generally considered an anti-immigrant sentiment society where employers are still in this modern age reluctant to hire foreign professionals. There might be many reasons for it such as foreign qualification recognition, lengthy process of worker recruitment, and lack of Finnish language proficiency, and prejudice against non-Finnish applicants.
Which foreign workers does Finland need?
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (TEM) Finland, employers have been continuously in problems for recruiting the following workers:
- nursing associate professionals,
- social work and counseling professionals,
- audiologists and speech therapists,
- general medical practitioners,
- early childhood educators,
- health care assistants,
- heavy truck drivers and bus drivers, nurses,
- software developers
- special medical practitioners,
- hospitality personnel (restaurant and hotel workers),
- Psychologists,
- engineering professionals (chemical, electrical, civil, mechanical),
- special needs teachers, and dentists,
- skilled trades (electricians, welders, mechanics),
- sales and marketing personnel (sales representatives, managers, graphic designers),
- truck drivers, delivery personnel, construction workers, mass transit drivers,
- IT personnel (cybersecurity experts, network administrators, technical support),
- construction workers,
- certified accountants, auditors, financial analysts,
- healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses & other non-nursing health professionals),
- supervisors (coaches, advisors, directors),
- cooks,
- early childhood educators,
- childcare providers,
- mechanics,
- social work and counseling professionals.
Top 15 Jobs in Finland’s Labor Market
- Application Programmers
- Software Developers
- Nursing Associate Professionals
- Social Work and Counselling Professionals
- Audiologists and Speech Therapists
- Generalist Medical Practitioners
- Early Childhood Educators
- Health Care Assistants
- Specialist Medical Practitioners
- Psychologists
- Special Needs Teachers
- Dentists
- Medical and Pathology Laboratory Technicians
- Home-based Personal Care Workers
- Contact Centre Salespersons
How to find jobs in Finland?
Find jobs through many different channels online is possible now. Following are some ways that could help you doing so:
- magazines and corporate websites
- internet job sites, private recruitment companies and resume banks – click here to go to website
- recruitment events and fairs
- networks of acquaintances as well as your former colleagues and relatives
- direct contact with companies – send an open application or arrange a meeting.
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Farooq
A young founder of Visa Guru, energetic, emerging writer. Having previously had a lot of work experience with customers of different fields, he wants to share with you his experience of travel, immigration, and visa issues. Main Goal: Keeping you all up to date with all current new happenings:)
