As the pandemic continues to subdue and many countries continue to open their doors to the foreign workforce and to existing residents residing within the country, Finland and its foreign professionals still have many challenges ahead of them. The country has been awarded the happiest country in the world once again. But are everyone living in the country really happy? Are people of foreign backgrounds really happy with the opportunities within the country?
This challenge also extends to also Finnish nationals that have lived abroad or gone abroad for study or work. They also find it had to be accepted into the Finnish workforce. I was surprised to discover this because I was having the feeling that it only happens to people of foreign backgrounds. European living in Finland are also facing the same challenges.
I wonder why this is the case in Finland, and I can share my own experience with you. Been living in Finland for 10 years with professional experience of more than 10 years. At first, the excuse was that my certificate is not recognized here and I can’t practice my profession here. The second excuse is that I don’t speak the Finnish language well enough. I know I don’t speak the language perfectly but language practice makes perfect. How one be perfect if we are not given the chance to practice. I speak almost 8 languages and the Finnish language is the only language that is most difficult to learn because even when you learn and are good at it and you don’t see people to practice with you are bound to forget.
After some years of hard work in learning the language and also obtaining the Finnish degree now the challenges still continue. The job hunt continues and the same response is what I face on a daily basis. In 2021 I send 217 applications both digitally and in-person to many companies in Finland but there is no possible offer. The weirdest thing is that I send the same application to the same company with a different name carrying a Finnish name. I received an immediate response for an interview when I did that and I wonder where the problem was. The same company that didn’t even acknowledge my resume the first time is now offering me an interview appointment. I made it clear to them that I have applied before stating the date and position and never hear any response. But why are they inviting me now when I used a Finnish name. You can guess there was no reply.
That was an experiment to know the root cause of the problem. I am not using this experiment to draw any conclusions but I believe there is more to be done in the Finnish recruiting process and the mindset of people.
They worry about hiring someone with not-so-good language skills because it’s a huge risk. Will they be able to complete their tasks? Work with their co-workers? Is helping customers effectively? Do they understand what is expected of them?
This is just one in a million experiences faced by the foreign working class in Finland. I can’t continue to imagine the stress and depression faced by this foreign professional. Integration of foreigners in Finland still has a long way to go. The government does have many initiatives in place but the companies are not yielding to this as they have their own requirements.
This experience is hard to explain to my Finnish friends as they don’t know what it takes for us with foreign backgrounds to get work in Finland. During the same time, I was sending the above-mentioned resume to companies, a Finnish friend also was sending his resume to companies too. However, he only sends 3 job applications and he got interviews for all the 3 companies and he was finding it hard to make a selection. The said individual has changed 2 jobs during this given time. When I open up to express my feeling he thinks I am not trying enough to get a job.
This system sometimes also don’t want to explore the skill of foreign professionals. The government has many projects in place but they are not achieving the goals. The government is also aware of these problems and has also initiated an anonymous application for foreign nationals. Imagine an integration center for unemployed foreign nationals telling you they don’t recognize your skill and you have to either settle for cleaning jobs or healthcare jobs. This experience has been a regular situation many foreign nationals find themselves in.
This type of frustration has made many foreign professionals that have not been able to get a job in Finland move abroad and their skills are most welcomed there. We have a situation where these professionals study in Finland and even become Finnish citizens but are still unable to get jobs. Mostly I believe the system is losing when they educate its citizens and allow other countries to explore their skills due to the fact they are unable to secure a job in their own country.
The challenges are not limited to job search but also went further into some other agencies like the insurance, banking, immigration.
