Finland has "lessons to learn" in relation to how immigrant workers and international students settle into the country, according to recent findings of a survey by research institute E2 Tutkimus.
Nearly half of the surveyed foreign degree students said they planned to leave Finland in the near future, soon after their graduation. At the same time, two-in-five foreign workers said they had plans to leave.
The research found that many immigrants face "surprisingly similar difficulties in Finland" regardless of nationality, profession or level of education.
"Regardless of their background, many international talents living in Finland come across the fact that employers do not value skills acquired abroad, it is difficult to access networks, and family members' adjustment difficulties hinder adjustment to life in Finland," the report stated.
Furthermore, although 86 percent of international degree students reported having settled into Finland 'very' or 'fairly well' during their studies, one in three said they consider their opportunities for career advancement would be poor if they remained in the country.
The same number of respondents said they needed more support in Finnish language learning, job search training and finding opportunities for networking with Finnish businesses.
Mikko Särelä, from Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK), noted that many foreign students do not get a chance to integrate into Finnish society during their studies or to work with local companies by completing an internship or thesis.
"The problem, however, is that very few international students get such opportunities. International students need ways to connect with Finnish society," Särelä said.
The study results come at a time when Finland is facing an acute need to recruit workers from abroad. The Finnish Economic Research Institute Etla recently calculated that Finland needs to acheive an annual net migration of 44,000 people over the next decade to plug the ever-widening dependency gap.
Yle News' weekly podcast All Points North asks why many international students and foreign workers in Finland say they are planning to leave in the near future.
Difficulties in making Finnish friends
The report noted that although social networks are very important for foreigners in Finland to find employment and integrate into society, many survey respondents reported facing difficulties making friends with Finns.
Nearly half of respondents who were either in employment or applying for work said they had found it difficult to find Finnish friends, and this made it harder for them to adjust to life in Finland. Additionally, more than two in five students reported the same, while one in three spouses or partners of foreigners who moved to Finland for work also cited a lack of Finnish friends as a reason for their integration difficulties.
"Of those who have no Finnish friends at all, one in three (31%) have adjusted poorly to life in Finland. Among those who have more than five Finnish friends, only very few (5%) have adjusted poorly to life in Finland," the report stated.
The survey results also underlined the importance of a strong social network, with nearly one in three saying they found their current job through a personal connection.
"As a society, we would have much to gain if we had the ability and courage to rethink the language requirements of work tasks, to open up our social circles to new people and make use of their expertise and international contacts in a versatile way," E2 Tutkimus Director Mari K. Niemi said.
Finland needs flexibility on language requirements
Many survey respondents also expressed a wish that Finnish employers would be more flexible regarding language requirements, arguing that fluent Finnish or Swedish should not necessarily always be required for every position.
Although the majority of respondents said they considered learning the local language to be important, but noted that accessing Finnish or Swedish language courses was not easy.
International students said Finnish lessons should be better integrated with other studies while many respondents who were already in employment said they hoped for more opportunities to learn the language while at work.
"It should be our duty of honour that people moving to Finland adjust to life in the country as well as possible. We also need to understand that not all work tasks require perfect fluency in Finnish or Swedish, while respecting different cultures at the same time," Jari Jokinen, the chair of Industrial Employees TP, said.
The research project, carried out between October 2021 and March 2023, queried around 2,500 people. The study collected extensive survey data from five groups of international talents: (1) expatriate Finns, (2) expatriates who have returned to Finland, (3) foreigners living, working or applying for work in Finland, (4) foreigners who have moved to Finland because of their spouse or partner, and (5) foreigners pursuing a higher education degree in Finland.
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