First Talent Boost Breakfast in Turku
On Thursday, Turku held its first Talent Boost Breakfast. The event is part of the Talent Boost Roadshow. More than 50 companies and organizations in Southwest Finland came to learn about the variety of resources available to help them with international talent attraction and recruitment.
The event was opened by Turku Science Park Ltd Network Manager Pipa Turvanen. She started by sharing some of the Talent Turku project's talent attraction campaigns. She announced that the Talent Call Turku project will be rebooted for 2020 and will be working closely with area companies. International House Turku, an advisory program to help international newcomers in Southwest Finland, is in the process of being organized.
Nuppu Rouhiainen with Business Finland shared information about the Talent Explore funding. It offers up to 20 000 euros to companies who want to hire an expert to help it advance in international markets.
Jaana Hernelahti with Varsinais-Suomi TE-Office shared a variety of resources available to companies through the city and EURES, the European job mobility organization. Services included advice on handling work permits, subsidized professional skills tests and assessments and workplace Finnish and Swedish language trainings.
Elina Koskela with Barona Oy shared her experiences with recruiting workers from outside of the EU. She encouraged companies to be patient with the visa issues. "We are aware of the visa issues in Finland. Yes, sometimes it is difficult, but it is doable. So don't let that stop you," Koskela said. The other barrier is companies switching to English as a working language. "English language in companies is important. It is still lacking and I think it has to do with courage. We (Finns) are afraid we will have to speak English in break rooms."
Hanna Tarvainen with Varsinais-Suomi Yrittäjät introduced Tempo, a program which helps organize recruitment events specifically tailored to a company's worker needs. For international students who are finishing degrees in local universities, they try to connect them with employers who need their skills and introduce them to people who will help them network. "Our focus is tapping into that unused potential to benefit Finland and the Finnish economy," Tarvainen said.
Representatives from area companies attended for a variety of reason. Mia Almgren with Orion said they need many research and development employees and they want to learn how best to attract talents when all of Europe has a shortage of skilled workers.
Kimmo Kummala with Awake.AI said they will need to start recruiting talents with specialties in AI security, testing and quality assurance. "We are a small company, so we need to know what resources there are to help us when we start to expand," Kummala said.
Stefania Federico is an international business advisor. She is Italian and has lived in Finland for 10 years. "It is not a problem of distance or a difference of 50 euros or so for a flight. Finland is a good place to live but we do not know how to promote ourselves around the world," Federico.
Tommi Virtanen with Yrityssalo Oy said he found all of the presentations informative. One area that still needs work is keeping international students who graduate from Finnish universities in country. "We should integrate the students and connect them with companies when they first get here, not when they are about to graduate. We still have a lot do in that area," Virtanen said.
Measures are made in increasing the retention of international talents in Finland. One of them is Talent Boost Summit 2019, which will this year focus on talent retention. We welcome all personnel responsible for recruitment, as well as other company and organization representatives
to join the event and to contribute to the discussion. 300 people are expected to take part in the Summit, which will be this year held in the city with best default settings for good life – Turku, Finland. Read more and sign up from: www.turkubusinessregion.com.
The co-ordination of the business and innovation services in the region is the responsibility of the regional development company Turku Science Park Ltd. Company representatives are encouraged to contact Turku Science Park Ltd professionals to get help in growing their business.