“Sisu. I love this word, it explains me very well!” exclaims Shaki, who is a business professional from Bangladesh. She is determined to build her career in Finland, which she has already learnt to call home. To boost her career, Shaki has taken part in SIMHE Path (1) during autumn 2019. The project is run by SIMHE-Metropolia (2) and it aims to build an educational model to promote the swift employment of highly educated immigrants by providing career counselling, mapping of competences, relevant supplementary studies and links to companies.
Knowing the skills-set required in the Finnish labor market
Shaki arrived in Finland just about a year ago, in January 2019. She holds an MBA degree and has several years of work experience in the field of accounting in an export-oriented company. She has also run a small online business. In Finland, Shaki would like to find a job related to accounting, investment, and banking.
Having looked for jobs online, Shaki has noticed that most companies require a fluent command of Finnish. While improving her language skills, Shaki also realised that she needs to focus on how to fit her professional competences into the Finnish job market. This is where SIMHE path came to help her. “I know accounting techniques, but what I lack is the language skills needed to work in Finnish”, Shaki explains. Being able to communicate in Finnish can be a crucial skill in many jobs in terms of profession and interacting with co-workers (3).
SIMHE path evaluates how your current competences fit the Finnish context
Shaki first heard about SIMHE–Metropolia’s services (4) on her Finnish course and immediately got interested. Luckily, the call for participants for SIMHE path in autumn 2019 happened to be open, and Shaki’s background in Business Administration matched the participant criteria (5).
Shaki participated in an orientation session, an in-depth professional discussion with Metropolia’s Senior Lecturer in International Business, a CV workshop, and a feedback session during autumn 2019. As part of the in-depth professional discussion, Shaki also received an evaluation document that she can use for example in job-search as a reference of having her skills evaluated by a Finnish higher education institution. The Mapping of Competences (6) has been one of SIMHE-Metropolia’s services since 2016, and it is currently conducted as part of SIMHE path.
Shaki has been happy with the process. In her words, it clarified things and helped her envision alternative paths. She will now look into the possibility of taking on additional studies, possibly in the field of ICT. Shaki is determined to make her way into the Finnish job market.
University-level education, a keen motivation to study Finnish and sisu are a combination that will surely boost Shaki’s career and help her land her to find dream job in Finland. Shaki is open to new opportunities the future may bring: “Now I want to say yes, yes, yes!” she smiles.
Spring 2020 SIMHE path to connect international ICT professionals with Finnish companies
There are many immigrants residing in Helsinki and its surrounding Metropolitan area (7). Employment is seen as one of the best ways to integrate into society and it also helps in learning Finnish language.
In spring 2020, we will pilot another round of SIMHE path, this time in close cooperation with ICT companies. The ICT field is growing rapidly, and up to 70 % of companies in the industry are hiring (8). In SIMHE Path, there will be a new call for participants during February 2020. This time it will be open for those who have completed a degree in ICT. Could that be you? Your competences will be mapped and compared to the companies’ needs, and the aim is to find you an internship in a company matching your background. Stay tuned, more information coming soon!
Registration for spring 2020 SIMHE-path will begin on 7 February 2020. Link for enrolment will be provided on this blog post on the date.
Writers
Marianne Autero works as a Career Coach at SIMHE-Metropolia services. She focuses on especially in planning, developing and implementing guidance and counselling practices for immigrants and is responsible for the guidance process in the SIMHE Path project.
Leena Honkasalo worked as Project Planner in the SIMHE Path project.
Sources:
1) SIMHE path https://www.metropolia.fi/en/research-development-and-innovation/all-projects/simhe-path/ (Read 20.1.2020)
2) SIMHE-Metropolia https://www.metropolia.fi/en/about-us/simhe/ (Read 20.1.2020)
3) Stenberg H., Autero M & Häkkinen, M. 2017. Kielen merkitys korkeasti koulutettujen maahanmuuttajien ohjaamisessa. Kieliverkosto. https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-lokakuu-2017-2/kielen-merkitys-korkeasti-koulutettujen-maahanmuuttajien-ohjaamisessa (Read 20.1.2020)
3) Kyntäjä E. 2018. OECD-raportti maahanmuuttajien kotoutumisesta Suomeen. Virolaiset omaa luokkaansa – pärjäävät parhaiten https://www.tuglas.fi/oecd-raportti-maahanmuuttajien-kotoutumisesta-suomeen (Read 20.1.2020)
4) SIMHE-Metropolia services https://www.metropolia.fi/en/services/for-immigrants/ (Read 20.1.2020)
5) SIMHE-path supports employment https://www.metropolia.fi/en/academics/courses-for-immigrants/simhe/ (Read 20.1.2020)
6) Autero, M. 2018. Osaamisen kartoitus tukee maahanmuuttajan työelämään ohjaamista. Teoksessa Stenberg H., Autero M., Ala-Nikkola E. (Eds.)., (2018). Osaamisella ei ole rajoja: Vastuukorkeakoulutoiminta maahanmuuttajien integraation tukena Suomessa. Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu. URN:ISBN:978-952-328-081-6
6) Autero M. (2018). Supporting Highly Educated Immigrants’ Career Paths in Finland https://blogit.metropolia.fi/variousvariables/2018/02/13/supporting-highly-educated-immigrants-career-paths-finland/
7) Helsingin tila ja kehitys 2019. https://tilajakehitys.hel.fi/ulkomaalaistaustaisten_tyollisyys (Read 20.1.2020)
8) Finnish Software and E-business Association (2019): Talouskasvun hiipuminen ei näy ohjelmistoalalla ja verkkoteollisuudessa. Press release 17.1.2019. Available online: https://www.ohjelmistoebusiness.fi/tiedotteet/talouskasvun-hiipuminen-ei-nay-ohjelmistoalalla-ja-verkkoteollisuudessa/.
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