EK eggs on employers to hire foreign students

The Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) wants to encourage employers to recruit foreign students studying in Finland with its #STAYinFinland campaign, said the EK in a press release on Tuesday.

This is an easy way to introduce international thinking, contacts in target markets and fresh expertise to an organisation. It is also a solution for Finland’s shortage of experts, said the EK.

There are about 20,000 foreign students studying at universities and universities of applied sciences (polytechnic institutes) in Finland. The main subjects studied are business, administration and law, information and communication technologies (ICT), engineering, manufacturing, and construction.

According to the latest Eurostudent survey, as many as 90 per cent of foreign students have a positive attitude to the idea of staying in Finland after graduation.

However, only half of these students will find employment in Finland. A quarter will end up moving from Finland within one year of graduation. This brain drain is a huge loss for Finland and the business community, as well as for the young people themselves.

The EK, together with the Responsible Summer Job (VastuullinenKesäduuni) Project, has launched a campaign to ensure that as many foreign students as possible stay in Finland and find work here.

“There are over 20,000 foreign students in Finland, but too few of them find a place in Finnish working life. Let’s change this together! We must ensure that international talents who are studying here or have just graduated are able to embark on a career in Finland,” said Minister of Science and Culture Annika Saarikko, the patron of the #STAYinFinland campaign.

“Finland must be an attractive country not only for study but also for work. We need to make good employment opportunities a Finnish key advantage to encourage young people planning to study to choose Finland,” said EK Director Taina Susiluoto.

She said, “The number of new international students arriving in Finland is likely to plummet, and therefore every effort must be made to make sure that the international talents who are already here want to stay here.”