Tag: international talent
A language-aware Metropolia busts the myth of monolingualism
Learning Finnish can significantly enhance the study experience and job opportunities for international students and employees at Metropolia UAS. Many international students choose not to stay in Finland after graduation. Research shows that limited Finnish language skills can hinder their sense of inclusion, affecting workplace well-being, integration, and long-term residency (1). Learning Finnish is crucial for those wishing to stay in Finland. Proficiency in Finnish positively impacts students’ inclusion, well-being, and adaptability (2). In light of these findings, Metropolia has developed language guidelines emphasizing early Finnish language training in degree programmes (3). Even basic Finnish knowledge can be beneficial in daily life and leisure activities. International students often face difficulties securing internships or jobs in Finland. Even in English-speaking environments, situations requiring Finnish can arise, leading to feelings of shame and inferiority. The goal of the language guidelines is not to create a monolingual (Finnish or English) environment but to foster a multilingual Metropolia that embraces evolving language skills: Finnish-speaking students are encouraged to use and practice English more frequently, while international students are supported in learning Finnish alongside their other studies — not just in Finnish language courses, but throughout all their studies. A multilingual Metropolia: a place where everyone feels at home Language-aware thinking takes a respectful and approving attitude towards different languages and forms of language (4). At Metropolia, we encourage lecturers of degree programmes to incorporate multiple languages into their teaching, allowing international students to hear simple, frequently occurring Finnish expressions and routine phrases as part of their teaching in English (e.g., huomenta kaikille, nyt pidetään tauko, haetaan vähän kahvia) and to become familiar with key course concepts in Finnish — and in other languages that exist in the group — as well. When the group translates important concepts into different languages based on the group's linguistic backgrounds, it often reveals various aspects and nuances of the concept and thus deepens the learning experience. For instance, various aspects of ”early childhood education” are illuminated for the students when they collaboratively reflect on the meanings and connotations of the term "education" in different languages, e.g. kasvatus, education, utbildning, educazione, onderwijs. It is also important for international students to have opportunities to participate in language-supported internships and to engage with Finnish workplaces early in their language studies. This experience, supported by an internship pair and a language mentor, would greatly enhance their language acquisition. If there are Finnish speakers within an English-speaking study group, it would be beneficial for them to take an active interest in the Finnish language learning of international students. By doing so, they could provide opportunities for these students to practice Finnish in everyday communication during lunch or coffee breaks. Is it necessary to learn Finnish when everyone in Finland speaks English? If the entire Metropolia community exclusively communicates in English with the language learner from the beginning, there is a risk that the institution itself may inadvertently limit the learner's opportunity to acquire Finnish through authentic interactions (5). By incorporating Finnish into safe, informal interactions, in addition to formal language courses, it becomes easier to gradually extend language use to internships and other professional settings. This approach allows the learner's language skills to develop first in informal, low-stakes situations.Many international professionals who have lived and worked in Finland for an extended period have emphasized that learning Finnish was the key to accessing Finnish culture and achieving true integration. Even when work is conducted smoothly in English, managing everyday life can be significantly more challenging without Finnish language proficiency (6). Many international employees have emphasized that learning Finnish was the key to accessing Finnish culture and achieving true integration. Metropolia plays a pivotal role in supporting language learning The language guidelines highlight the crucial involvement of the higher education community in language learning process. A key aspect of developing language skills is Metropolia's provision of a safe and supportive environment for learners to use and practice Finnish. This is especially significant for students who are proficient in English, as they often face challenges in receiving support for learning Finnish: Finnish speakers tend to switch into English when they recognize that their interlocutor is a fluent English speaker or a language learner. It is essential to provide international students and staff with ample opportunities to practice the language, and they must also seize these opportunities (7). Successful language learners typically exhibit the following traits: a desire to learn, a positive attitude towards the learning process, and the courage to make and learn from mistakes — language is most effectively acquired through active use. Language is most effectively acquired through active use To facilitate language learning outside the language courses, it is essential that the surrounding community provides opportunities for learners to engage in meaningful interactions in the target language. A significant obstacle to language acquisition, particularly in bachelor programmes, is the absence of meaningful interactional opportunities in Finnish. Also, an ideology that downplays the value of Finnish language often isolates international students in an English-speaking environment, hindering their Finnish language development (8). Making student's language skills and goals visible The language guidelines emphasize the importance of the Language PSP (Personal Study Plan), which is completed collaboratively by the student and their tutor or supervisor (9). This plan outlines the language aspirations and expectations of international students and brings to light the various factors that influence language learning. Finnish, while often regarded as challenging, is not inherently more difficult than many other languages. The primary challenge in acquiring Finnish appears to be the difficulty foreigners face in actively using the language, even within Finland. The language courses, interaction opportunities, and support provided by higher education institutions alone are insufficient to ensure successful language acquisition. Learners themselves must engage with these opportunities, enroll in as many Finnish language courses as possible, and begin using Finnish, even if their proficiency is limited to a few phrases. It is also essential to dispel the myth of perfect language proficiency. None of us achieves perfection in any language; effective communication can occur even with an accent or minor errors. The essential goal is to be understood and to effectively convey one's message. A language-aware Metropolia recognizes the crucial role of language skills in students' integration into Finland and their employment prospects. It is also important to understand that multiple languages can be utilized depending on the context. For instance, courses may be conducted bilingually, and it would be beneficial if, in group assignments, students had the option to submit their work in Finnish, English, or a combination of both. A language-aware Metropolia acknowledges the value of diverse language skills and accepts that English and Finnish may be spoken with various accents and in different ways. Interaction with language learners may require Finnish speakers to slow down their speech and use gestures to facilitate understanding. Although this approach demands some adaptability from Finnish speakers, achieving mutual comprehension in Finnish can be greatly empowering for the language learner. International student, embrace the opportunity to learn Finnish and enhance your life in Finland! Three key considerations for international students learning Finnish:1. Proficiency in Finnish is crucial for securing employment and fully enjoying life in Finland.2. Begin speaking Finnish as early as possible, even if only using basic phrases. Start with routine greetings and simple inquiries to practice listening and speaking. Gradually incorporate more Finnish into your conversations as your skills improve.3. Enroll in as many Finnish language courses as possible and seek out internship opportunities where Finnish is the primary language. Actively request language support and mentors. Although learning Finnish requires considerable effort, it is a worthwhile investment that will yield significant benefits.Metropolia language guidelines in nutshell.More tips and ideas for planning and implementing multilingual situations and learning language in different kind of situations will soon be published on the Metropolia intranet. Stay tuned! Author Eveliina Korpela works as a senior lecturer at Metropolia UAS and as a researcher at the University of Helsinki in a project Multilingual Worklife and Means of Participation. She is currently developing multilingual practices and language learning at work also in Kielibuusti-project. She has co-published numerous Finnish language textbooks and, along with her research team, authored a Guide for a Multilingual Workplace (Monikielisen työyhteisön opas, Alma Talent, 2023). Sources Nikulin, M. 2019. Akateemisen maahanmuuttajan suomen kielen taidon tarve työssä ja arjessa. Lähivõrdlusi. Lähivertailuja, 29, 171–203. http://dx.doi.org/10.5128/LV29.06 Cf. Stilling, E. 2022. Med språket som strategiskt verktyg. Guide till ett språkutvecklande arbetssätt för chefer, HR-personal och beslutsfattare. Tukholma: Föreningen Vård- och omsorgscollege. https://vofront-files.vo-college.se/vofront_files/218c4845-cc38-4a38-84c0-8e88da116abe.p Language guidelines in nutshell. https://www.metropolia.fi/en/about-us/language-guidelines Kielibuusti-hankkeen sivut. (2024) https://www.kielibuusti.fi/en/employers/multilingual-workplace/steps-toward-language-awareness-in-the-workplace Cf. Lønsmann, D. 2015. Language ideologies in a Danish company with English as a corporate language: ‘it has to be English’. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 36 (4), 339–356. Lehtimaja, I., Korpela, E., Komppa, J., Kotilainen, L. & Kurhila, S. 2023. Monikielisen työyhteisön opas. Helsinki: Alma Talent. Kirilova, M., & Lønsmann, D. 2020. Dansk – nøglen til arbejde? Ideologier om sprogbrug og sproglæring i to arbejdskontekster i Danmark. Nordand – Nordisk tidsskrift for andrespråksforskning , 15 (1), 37–57. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.2535-3381-2020-01-03 Intke-Hernandez, M. 2021. Kielenoppija tarvitsee tuekseen kielitietoisuutta ja yhteisiä tekoja. Kieli, koulutus ja yhteiskunta, 12 (6). https://www.kieliverkosto.fi/fi/journals/kieli-koulutus-ja-yhteiskunta-joulukuu-2021/kielenoppija-tarvitsee-tuekseen-kielitietoisuutta-ja-yhteisia-tekoja Kielibuusti-hankkeen sivut. Kieli-HOPS. Language PSP. https://www.kielibuusti.fi/en/learn-swedish/language-learning-tips-and-resources/plan-your-language-learning-with-language-psp
Five Effective Ways to Learn Finnish
Have you recently moved to Finland or are you currently trying to learn Finnish? Good, then you are at the right place! Language courses and classes are unquestionably the best ways to learn a new language, but there are also many other ways to enhance your learning along the way and implement the new language into your life. And to be fair, learning Finnish can be a bit intimidating at times, so here are five ways to boost your learning journey! Try to Speak Finnish with Finns First, let’s state the obvious. Even Finns themselves think that Finnish is a bit of a complicated language to learn and speak, so don’t worry. You don’t have to speak it perfectly to be understood. Speaking a foreign language for the first time can be daunting! However, you’ll learn the language faster when you use it on a daily basis (1). So, when you are at the grocery store, for example, bravely say “kiitos” and “hyvää päivänjatkoa!” to the cashier. In general, we Finns are really friendly and kind, contrary to all stereotypes, so don’t be afraid and just go for it! If you can use Finnish every day, even in these little moments, you’ll become more confident using it, and in the long run, you’ll end up learning it faster. It’s also worth mentioning that in Finland, everyone speaks English quite well, so sometimes when we want to be friendly, we switch the language to English quite easily. But if you want to talk in Finnish, just do it! Watch Finnish TV Shows and Movies This may seem obvious, but I still want to mention it. To learn a new language, you need to read it, write it, speak it, and hear it (2). That being said, it is a great idea to watch TV shows and movies in the language you want to acquire. It doesn’t matter if you have the subtitles on; you just need to hear Finnish. Even though you don’t understand everything they say in the shows and movies, you’ll still hear the language, and it will help you learn. Another way to do this is to watch a movie or a show you have already seen, dubbed in Finnish. This way you already know the plot and it’s much easier to follow along! Listen to Finnish Podcasts This is also an excellent way to hear Finnish and learn to comprehend it little by little. The same goes for podcasts as with TV shows and movies; you don’t have to understand everything, you just have to listen! There are plenty of good options when it comes to podcasts. If you want to listen to a learning podcast, then there are, for example, Opi Suomea -podcast and Random Finnish Lesson -podcast, which can help you learn Finnish faster. In these podcasts, the language used is simple and easy to understand. Then, of course, there are multiple other Finnish podcasts on different topics. You can find them on Yle Areena or Spotify. If you are interested in history or true crime, you can listen to a Finnish podcast about these topics and learn a lot. Watch Finnish Children’s TV Shows This may seem really silly at first, but it is actually a helpful way to boost your language learning. The reason is that the language in children’s TV shows is way simpler and easier to understand. Therefore, it’s a great way to improve your language learning, plus it’s really fun! For example, the Moomins (Muumit in Finnish) are a great option for this. The Moomin characters speak very simple and basic Finnish, making it easy to follow along. You can watch The Moomin series on Yle Areena for free, so check it out! In addition, you get to know the Finnish culture since the Moomins are a big part of the Finnish cultural identity. Use Post-it notes to Learn the Finnish Vocabulary When you need to learn Finnish vocabulary, post-it notes can useful. For example, write the Finnish words for different furniture items and stick them to the furniture. You can start with five words for instance and then change the post-it notes when you already know them. You can also try saying the words out loud to practice the pronunciation of the words. You can apply this method to other things, too. If you want to learn food vocabulary, stick post-it notes to the items in your fridge. This can really speed up your learning as you see the Finnish words every day in your home! Let’s Get to Learning Finnish There are many ways to learn a new language, and different things work for different people. You can use one of the ways mentioned in this blog post to boost your Finnish, or you can even try them all if you’d like. The key to learning Finnish is to immerse yourself in it! And in no time, you’ll notice yourself getting better and better in Finnish and soon enough you’ll be a fluent speaker. And in case you are looking for Finnish language courses, please take a look at Metropolia’s Finnish language courses for immigrants. We’d love to have you here in Metropolia! Author Jenni Savolainen is a communications intern at the Learning Networks and Services team at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and a master’s student at the University of Turku majoring in the Finnish language. Sources: Tandem 2017. Want to Learn a Language Quickly? Get Speaking! Web page. Viewed on 18th of October 2023. UNC Learning Center 2015. Learning Languages. Web page. Viewed on 25th of October 2023.
Why Finnish is Easier to Learn than You Think
When talking about languages, Finnish always comes up as being a hard language to learn. There are 15 grammatical cases and other grammatical things that can make you feel horrified. Sure, Finnish may be a bit hard language to grasp but it is not as hard as Japanese, Korean or Arabic, according to the US State Department’s Foreign Service Institute, FSI (1). Does this make you feel any better? Good! There are actually a few different reasons why I think Finnish is easier to learn than you think. Let’s get into it! Gender-neutrality, Loanwords and Suffixes Firstly, Finnish is a somewhat gender-neutral language since there is no grammatical gender (2). We only have one pronoun hän, which includes every gender. So, you only need to know one pronoun. On top of that, Finns also like to use pronoun se (which translates to it) to refer to a person. Therefore, when speaking Finnish, you will be fine just using the pronoun hän and/or se. Nouns are neutral in Finnish too. If you speak for example Italian or Spanish, you are probably used to nouns being either feminine or masculine. In Finnish, there are no feminine or masculine nouns. Also, the vocabulary is something worth mentioning. There are many loanwords from different languages in Finnish (3). English being the lingua franca, the English loanwords ease learning Finnish for a lot of people because the words are already familiar. For example, a banana is simply banaani, a paper is paperi, a hotel is hotelli and a camera is kamera. In addition, there are no articles in the Finnish grammar. You don’t have to worry about whether a, an or the is necessary. In Finnish, there are other ways to define and clarify things and situations. The aforesaid 15 grammatical cases come in handy with this one. Finnish is also, like all the Uralic languages, an agglutinative language which means affixes are attached to the word stems to form a word (4). I will give you an example of how this works. If you want to say my dog, in Finnish you say koirani. So, to break it down, the word for a dog is koira, and the possessive suffix is -ni which means my. In short, this is how conjugation works in Finnish: you add affixes to the end of the word. Finnish is a Phonetic Language If you have ever tried to learn, for example, French, you probably know that in some languages the words are written in one way but the pronunciation sounds like a completely different word. Well, luckily Finnish isn’t like this! Finnish is a phonetic language which basically means words are pronounced exactly as they are written (5). If you can master ääkköset (meaning the letters ä, ö and å), you’ll be on your way to being a fluent Finnish speaker! Also, there is something called vowel harmony which can make the pronunciation of Finnish words a bit easier. Vowel harmony means that front (ä, ö, y) and back (a, o, u) vowels can’t exist in the same word. Then there are two neutral vowels (i, e) that can exist with both front and back vowels. So, if you are wondering how to conjugate a certain word, this knowledge will come in handy. Plain Language Helps You Learn the Language To finish this off, I have an extra tip for you that you can use when you are on your journey to learn Finnish and already understand the language a bit. In Finland there’s plain language (selkokieli) versions available on many things (6). For example, we have plain language news on the television, and most government’s institutions have web pages written in plain language as well. These are useful for someone learning the language, because the sentences and grammar in general are simpler and easier to understand. If you are feeling down about learning Finnish, I hope this blog post can bring you some comfort. Finnish is definitely a unique language, but it is very possible to learn and be good at it. It just takes some practice. Author Jenni Savolainen is a communications intern at the Learning Networks and Services team at Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and a master's student at the University of Turku majoring in the Finnish language. Sources: Yle News 2013. Finnish among most difficult languages for English speakers. News article. Viewed on 21st of March 2023. Pirie, J. 2017. Finnish Grammar. Web site. Viewed on 23rd of March 2023. Tamminen-Parre, S. 2009. Collocations, attitudes, and English loan words in Finnish. Language Variation - European Perspectives III (2011), pages 215-225. Karlsson, F. 2006. Finnish as an agglunative language. Academic article. Viewed on 17th of March 2023. A taste of Finnish 2014. Finnish language. Course material. Viewed on 21st of March 2023. fi 2021. Plain language is easy to use. Web page. Viewed on 21st of March 2023.
Dip your toes or just dive right in: the Helsinki region invites you to explore entrepreneurship
One of Finland’s largest ever mergers and acquisitions, the purchase of Wolt by DoorDash (1), in November 2021 created a huge buzz again around the startup scene in Finland. With such record-breaking deals, it is easy to think that only few extraordinarily brilliant business minds could manage entrepreneurship and founding a startup. In the best-case scenario, with hard work, a clever idea and some luck, your business can indeed turn into a unicorn like Wolt. However, as an entrepreneur, you set the goals for your business. The unique appeal of entrepreneurship is that it can take different forms based on your interests and expertise. No matter what your vision for your business is, the Helsinki capital region is an ideal setting for developing your business idea. You certainly have plenty of support available around you. Should I? Could I? — Plunge into the idea of entrepreneurship The first step is to ask yourself: could entrepreneurship be something for me? We all start from somewhere, and baby steps are allowed along the way. Your skills and competence will grow by seeking information, experience and feedback. Once you have your business idea, you can determine the scale of your endeavour. You can start with anything from light entrepreneurship to visionary business-building with global reach. Entrepreneurship incorporates a huge variety of options. When contemplating the thought, you can explore the forms of enterprises in Finland e.g. on the InfoFinland website or in the Guide for Becoming an Entrepreneur on the NewCo Helsinki website. Polish the key: your attitude Secondly, as an entrepreneur, you need to be prepared to work on your attitude. In speaking with business and talent advisors and startup entrepreneurs, three main themes tend to come up: flexibility, openness, and adaptability. Teemu Seppälä, a Business Advisor for NewCo Helsinki, offers that to be successful as an entrepreneur, you need to find the balance of being open to feedback and confidence in your vision. Of course, any successful entrepreneur needs to have confidence in their abilities and, in some sense, be slightly stubborn. But as Teemu summarises his experience of working with thousands of startups, "you need to be open to feedback and criticism." This fail-fast mentality fosters quicker development and can help you crystallise your ideas, product, or initiative (2). Echoing Teemu's advice, Jochen Faugel, an experienced business coach and current Project Planner for the City of Helsinki initiative The Spouse Program, emphasises a similar must: "Learn from others, ask for advice, and appreciate all kinds of feedback; good and bad. Because success is not about having a great concept but your ability to implement it." Satomi Peltola, one of the founders of the Finnish zero-waste culinary startup Misola, stresses that openness not only represents being open to feedback from others but also a willingness to ask questions. As she says, “The City of Helsinki offers many services and support for entrepreneurs. When getting help, I decided early on not to be afraid of being embarrassed or looking ignorant.” No matter how well you draft your business plan, surprises tend to come along. "It is critical to be flexible and adaptable when becoming an entrepreneur. Not everything goes as planned, so you need to be willing to adjust to what comes your way.", pinpoints Bahman Doaeian, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of the MedTech startup Phonolyser. Build up your know-how through business advising services Thirdly, like Satomi points out, the region provides you with a wide range of services — thanks to strong national and regional commitment. Discover and utilise these services! The burgeoning startup scene in the Helsinki region is internationally renowned. The vibrancy of the scene is crucial to the cities in the region as well. Thus, they heavily invest in leveraging their entrepreneurs’ success. In practice, this translates into high-quality public services available for you, free of charge. For example, the City of Helsinki has committed to being a "hotbed of business opportunity in Europe." As the recently released Helsinki City Strategy for 2021-2025 explains, "Helsinki must be an enticing place for testing out new solutions in an urban environment. We effectively arrange innovation competitions, funds, and other tools." A vital component of the City of Helsinki's entrepreneurial initiatives is NewCo Helsinki. NewCo Helsinki is there to help you get started and to support you throughout your entrepreneurial journey. Their business advisors guide from translating your initial ideas into a business plan, starting a business, acquiring funding and even potentially taking your business abroad. You can book one-to-one sessions, join their numerous multilingual events and explore the extensive material bank available to you online. In the neighbouring cities similar services are provided by e.g. EnterpriseEspoo and YritysVantaa. The strong commitment reaches through to the national level as well. E.g. Business Finland creates a backbone for success with its services such as funding, support functions and information resources. It has developed for example a Startup Kit and launched with Finnish Immigration Service the Startup Permit for entrepreneurs who move to Finland. National funding is channelled also through TE services as startup grants for new entrepreneurs. You indeed have plenty to explore. Unlock the strength of the startup community through networks You definitely do not have to walk alone as an entrepreneur in the Helsinki region. The local startup community is known for its strong networks and geared to supporting each other to excel. The community is also highly international. Networks help you to develop your business know-how and to evaluate your business concept. Check out for example the following ways to build your networks and skills: Maria 01 campus: The leading startup campus in the Nordics provides its members with the tools, working spaces and knowledge for developing their businesses. The hub focuses on tech startups and investors. Recently Maria 01 was awarded with the Internationalisation Award for the year 2021 by the president of Finland. Coaching and training services and networking events such as those organised by Startup Refugees and The Shortcut Free entrepreneurship courses such as the Entrepreneurship Course by Startup Refugees and the Aalto University online course Starting Up developed in collaboration with Reaktor, Kiuas, Maki.vc and Aalto Ventures Program Open working spaces, such as Startup Sauna Startup accelerator and incubator programs and centers, such as Kiuas, Urban Tech Helsinki by the City of Helsinki, Aalto University, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and University of Helsinki, and Health Incubator Helsinki Mentoring programs, such as the Mentorisi.fi program (for members of the interest and service organisation for small and medium-sized enterprises Suomen Yrittäjät) And yes, Helsinki is home of Slush, one of the world’s leading startup and tech events. Slush is all about world-class networking with your colleagues, investors and just about anybody interested in new trends. Are you a student? Build up your entrepreneurship skills already during your studies! Finally, if you are a student in a Finnish higher education institution, explore the opportunities available to you in your institution. As it happens, also higher education institutions want to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation in their students. Your time as a student is a valuable opportunity to not just develop your know-how, but to also build up your networks and try out new things with a low threshold. For instance, the Wolt CEO Miki Kuusi started his startup career already as a student, harnessing the drive of a creative student community to launch the now already renowned startup networking hubs Startup sauna and Slush (3). Having fun with your friends can turn into something meaningful! Often you have access for example to entrepreneurship courses and workshops courses developing your innovation thinking student entrepreneurship societies events and hackathons startup incubator programmes. Again, the cities collaborate with higher education institutions to encourage entrepreneurship through e.g. joint events, workshops and new initiatives. For instance, in January 2022 the City of Helsinki announced a new network of business incubators collaborating with the region's higher education institutions, Aalto University, University of Helsinki and Metropolia. As Jussi Laine, Project Manager of the Campus Incubators programme, says, "My goal is to create a framework on behalf of the city that enables sharing best practices between institutions and bringing the city's special expertise close to the institutions’ incubator activities". The Campus Incubators programme strives to create 100 new companies annually by connecting top researchers, the Helsinki region's startup ecosystem, and students in higher education. Next: write your story in the business ecosystem of the Helsinki region! To sum it up, you are in the place to be for gathering up the courage and knowledge to start your business. In fact, the Helsinki region ranks among the top 20 emerging startup ecosystems in the world (4). Precisely the scope of funding for startups, talented workforce and the strong startup network are seen as an asset for the region (5). There is room for everyone in the Finnish entrepreneurship thinking. While successful startup entrepreneurs can become rock stars of the business world attracting top talents’ eye to Finland, the vast majority of Finnish companies, 93 %, are small enterprises employing less than 10 people (6). On the other hand, Finnish entrepreneurship is internationalising also in terms of ownership. The number of immigrant-owned enterprises has grown dramatically in the past two decades. Immigrants’ self-employment rate is nowadays similar to natives. (7.) Dive in or simply just start by dipping your toes into the ocean of entrepreneurship. By trusting in your own skills and expertise, remaining open to failure, and utilising the resources and networks of the capital region, you can find the style of entrepreneurship that best fits you. Writers: Vejay Nair is a Project Planner for the City of Helsinki and a Communication Specialist from International House Helsinki. He relocated to Helsinki 5 years ago from San Francisco, USA, and completed his MA in Intercultural Encounters from the University of Helsinki in 2019. Marika Antikainen is a Project Planner in Metropolia. She works in a collaboration project with the employment services of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa-Kerava to increase employment among international professionals in the Helsinki region. Sources: Levingston, I. & David, R. 2021. Wolt’s $8 Billion DoorDash Sale Joins Largest Finland Deals. Bloomberg. Published on 10 November 2021. Giles, S. 2018. How To Fail Faster -- And Why You Should. Forbes. Published on 30 April 2018. Armstrong, S. 2015. The 2015 WIRED 100: Miki Kuusi (No.32). The Wired. Published on 29 Juy 2015. Startup Genome 2021. Rankings 2021: Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems. The Global Startup Ecosystem Report 2021. Published on 22 September 2021. Startup Genome: Finland – Greater Helsinki. Viewed on 22 December 2021. Suomen Yrittäjät. Entrepreneurship in Finland. Viewed on 22 December 2021. Fornaro, P. 2018. Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Finland. ETLA Raportit – Reports 83. ETLA Economic Research. Published on 13 September 2018.
Talent hubs in the making: collaborating for a Future Finland
Finland faces a challenging future with the declining birth rate and ageing population (1). The welfare state needs more education and work based immigration to survive (2). Frustration over international professionals’ struggle to land jobs in Finland increases (3). Requirements of fluency in Finnish is the number one barrier for employment (4). We are all growing familiar with these kinds of headlines. There is no way around it: Finland needs to invest more in international professionals — not only in attracting new talent to Finland, but also in solving the struggles with employment and inclusion. The long overdue change requires a shift in attitudes and practices as well as structural amendments across sectors and spheres of life. That change is now being pushed hard, and in more extensive collaboration than ever before. Are you already familiar with what is happening on the strategic and structural levels to solve the employment challenge? Or have you noticed how these strategies impact the services you get as an international professional? Holistic quality services across organisational boundaries ”The career coach I spoke to was very friendly and straightforward, paid attention to my needs and wishes and offered guidance based on those.” “The career coach does a great job and she is very empathetic and helpful. She got me a whole list of advice and possibilities where to find a job and studies in Finland.” What is your experience of valuable service? These customer quotes highlight the importance of matching opportunities with your needs, regardless of which organisation provides them. Indeed, according to research, efficient and holistic solutions for individuals are created in networks (5). And, even if Finland is no way near the ideal situation yet, the good news is that a lot is currently being done to make Finland more open and inclusive at all levels. Funding is targeted to steer operations towards the shared goals. New services and projects are popping up like swimmers by a lakeside on a hot summer day. With the increase in numbers, however, comes the challenge. How can you navigate in the jungle of services? How can you find the right ones for you and not fall between the cracks? Rather than everybody becoming Sherlock Holmes, Finnish service providers must commit to coordinated collaboration for smooth and knowledgeable services. Talent Boost and local government pilots on employment: joint efforts to increase access to job market Strategically speaking, changing the course of this country requires a shared goal as well as coordination and cooperation, both nationally and locally. Luckily, there is a genuine motivation to work in collaborative networks in Finland. And, this is how strategies slowly start dribbling down into the quality of services for you. On the national level, the cross-administrative Talent Boost programme was launched a few years ago to coordinate the wide variety of services and operators working with international professionals and students in Finland (6). The programme objectives are to make: Finland more attractive internationally, employers willing and able to recruit international talent and international professionals’ expertise to drive internationalisation and renewal of Finnish companies and organisations. Changes are taking place on the municipal level as well. The new local government pilots on employment are set to improve quality and coordination in employment services (7). The initiative brings about massive restructuring of responsibilities between the state, municipalities, public employment and business services (TE services) and other local actors. The pilot municipalities have taken charge of employment services for selected groups of unemployed jobseekers, including immigrants and foreign-language speakers. The goals of the pilots are ambitious: to increase employment, to create new solutions, to improve access to labour market and to develop services and service models in networks. Both initiatives are in line with the government programme towards a more sustainable and inclusive Finland, built on competence and skills (8). If one word were to be picked from all these policies and strategies, it would be together. Network collaboration becoming reality in the Helsinki region: through the lens of Metropolia Behind the scenes, a hub of networks is indeed buzzing in the Helsinki region. What does this mean in practice for you? A few concrete examples can be explored through the lens of Metropolia SIMHE services (Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education in Finland). Are you unemployed, live in the Helsinki region and have a higher education degree? If yes, you will have access to Metropolia’s guidance and education services to unemployed international professionals, developed in collaboration with the employment pilots of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kerava (9). Your employment services perhaps guide you directly to the already well-established personal SIMHE guidance. You might join SIMHE group guidance, e.g. Guidance Generalia lectures and smaller group activities. In these services you get support in your study and/or career path from the SIMHE career coaches. They are specialised in guiding international professionals with a higher education degree or wishing to get one. Guidance is based on your needs, competences and career wishes, matching you with the right opportunities in the service networks of the area and Finland. Are you in a different life situation? Don’t worry, SIMHE guidance services are also available to you. You just need to explore our services and book an appointment yourself on our website. If your background matches, SIMHE career coaches will guide you to Metropolia’s new Career Boost programmes for unemployed jobseekers. The programmes run in the fields of automation business, business accounting, ICT, nursing and real estate and construction. In these programmes you get to develop and update your field-specific and Finnish language competence and get connected to local employers. A Metropolia expert of your field also maps and documents your competence to help Finnish employers better understand your expertise — and recruit you. You might also bump into a SIMHE career coach in activities of other organisations and associations, most recently with e.g. Luckan Integration, International Working Women of Finland ry and Nyyti ry, or in social media groups. Vice versa, in Metropolia’s SIMHE activities you can get insights and advice from specialised visiting speakers, e.g. EDUFI on recognition of qualifications, NewCo Helsinki on entrepreneurship or company representatives and international talents themselves on work-related topics such as professional networking or job seeking channels. In addition, you might end up participating in some of the services developed in the Talent Boost project International Talents Accelerating Growth, e.g. in recruitment events, a Spouse programme, public services of the further developed International House Helsinki or the EntryPoint mentoring programme (transitioning to the City of Espoo in the autumn 2021). If you are a student, maybe you are applying for a job through JobTeaser, a career and recruitment portal launched in collaboration with the higher education institutions in the region. A new Talent Helsinki project, together with similar ones in Espoo and Vantaa, will make sure to continue the coordinated work for more excellent services! And while looking for a job, did you know for example that companies can apply for Talent Explorer funding from Business Finland when recruiting international professionals for certain types of jobs? Or that they can get advice and counselling service on international recruitment from International House Helsinki? It is indeed a growing network of experts that are working together to make Finland work for you. Together towards a Finland 2.0 Certainly, no man is an island — neither is a service provider in a Finland 2.0. Improving employment opportunities for international professionals requires awareness raising and action at all layers of society, from individuals to companies and organisations and the government. This country can succeed only in collaborative networks. Customised, easily accessible, quality support for international talents is a must, and so is continuity to these services. Service providers as well as strategy makers need to re-think the way they operate and push further. Importantly, you need to have the opportunity to participate in developing the Future Finland. Yet, crucial to employment is naturally that more and more Finnish companies and organisations change their recruitment practices. Operations must be adjusted towards an inclusive work culture. Luckily, we have a growing number of forerunners showing their colleagues how to do it in a Finland 2.0. Also, the front of organisations helping employers find, recruit and support international professionals is becoming wider and wider. The road map is there. Let’s take a tiger leap towards the Future Finland together. Now. Interested in reading more on the topic? See the recent publication: Stenberg, H., Antikainen, M., Lintala, E. Roivas, M. 2021. Towards a Finland of talents together – insights on the SIMHE operations. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, TAITO 70. Sources: Yle 2021. Consultancy: Foreign labour needed to combat population decline. Yle News. Viewed on 9 June 2021. Teivainen, A. 2021. Chamber of Commerce: Finland needs target of 30,000 for skills-based immigration. Helsinki Times. Viewed on 9 June 2021. Faye, N. 2021. "Brain waste" squanders potential and talent in Finland. Yle News. Viewed on 9 June 2021. Rask, S. 2021. The biggest problem internationals face on the Finnish job market – and 3 ways to solve it. Vieraskynä. Mothers in Business blog. Viewed on 9 June 2021. Rautvuori, M. & Jyrämä, A. 2015. Kaupungin kehitystyön kehittäminen - verkostonäkökulma. In Palvelumuotoilu saapuu verkostojen kaupunkiin: Verkosto- ja muotoilunäkökulmia kaupungin palvelujen kehittämiseen (pdf). 119-136. Aalto-yliopiston julkaisusarja. Viewed on 9 June 2021. Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland. 2021. Talent Boost programme. Viewed on 9 June 2021. Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland. 2021. Local government pilots on employment. Viewed on 9 June 2021. Government Programme. 2019. Inclusive and competent Finland – a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable society. Viewed on 9 June 2021. Metropolia. 2021. Metropolia promotes international professionals’ entry to local job market in collaboration with employment pilots. Viewed on 9 June 2021.
Find your way to become a Finnish speaker
According to the interesting Expat Insider 2021 survey (3), Finland is in the top 5 for quality of life, but even 50 % of expats are pessimistic about the local career opportunities. Surprising? Despite possibilities to communicate in English (75% of respondents agree that you can get by without speaking the local language), it is considered hard to get used to the local culture and make local friends. Also, even 71% struggle with learning the local language (vs. 42% globally). Good reasons to invest in language learning? Finnish workplaces are getting more and more international, but knowledge of the local language is still required in most organisations, for both finding employment and advancing in a career (2). Even if the working language is English, Finnish is often used in various communication situations (4). Requirements related to language skills naturally vary depending on the job description and the industry. According to a survey by the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce (2), already the beginners’ level A1 is of advantage to get at least an internship. The intermediate level B1 enhances remarkably the chances to get at least an internship (enough for 65% of the companies). Most of the companies (about 65%) require at least the independent level B2 in skilled worker positions and the advanced level C1-C2 in expert and management positions. On the whole, knowledge of the local language provides many benefits. Already presenting yourself, having simple small talk and understanding main points in everyday conversations make you feel more connected to the language community. By using the local language you show your interest and commitment in an efficient and convincing way. Language skills widen your career opportunities to the public sector, smaller local companies and entrepreneurship. At the same time, language skills increase your sense of control and well-being by enabling you to follow the information flow in your everyday living environment (4,6). Identify the motivating language learning strategies Are you one of those struggling with learning Finnish? If yes, you are not the only one! The structure and vocabulary do differ a lot from at least the Indo-European languages. Nevertheless, to learn any new language, you have to be exposed to it (a lot), and work on it (a lot). What you really need is to find and keep up your motivation. According to theories of functional language learning (1,7) the best way to learn the language is to integrate it into your everyday life in the ways that you like. There are lots of good language courses, books and online materials available, but the key is to recognise the opportunities to use the language and apply your skills in your environment. The super-talented language learner Brasilian Gustavo (Brassinyymi) has learned Finnish with the help of Finnish metal music, Fred Karlssons Grammar book and Uusi kielemme website. He listens to Yle news in Easy Finnish and chats in Omegle. Of course not everybody has to be able to do the same, but there are methods for everyone to make language learning easier, faster and funnier. First, focus on what is relevant to you. Second, keep your eyes, ears and mouth open. You need to listen a lot, make observations - and imitate. Start using the language straight from the beginning. There is no need to be fluent before starting! Also, don’t give up if the answer is in English (Finns are still very stubborn to switch into English instead of supporting Finnish language learning)! If you feel shy, you can speak first to your flowers or cats. After that, there is no limit for imagination. You can search for other language learners and set up a language club, find a language mate in Lango or join a language cafe. You can join a Facebook or a hobby group that are of your interest, watch films e.g. in Yle Kielikoulu or listen to music, sing along and write the missing words (lyrics training). In the learning process, instead of thinking about everything you cannot do, it is important to enjoy learning and feel good about all the situations you can already manage. After all... Language skills requirements seem to be sometimes even unnecessarily high, but there are also some positive signals in sight. Employers seem to be more and more willing to support the language learning process at work (8). This indeed is highly recommendable: professional language skills related to specific work can only be acquired in real-life work environments (5). Finland and Finnish organisations must open themselves more to Finnish speakers who are not fluent. From another perspective, learning a new language is not connected only to concrete usefulness related to employment or career opportunities. Have you had the experience of really diving into the new language, starting to think directly through it? Have you felt the joy of becoming a member of a language speakers’ group? Learning a new language not only opens doors to work opportunities, society and culture. It is an inspiring possibility to find new ways to be you and what you could be. We support you! Metropolia supports your Finnish language learning in many ways. Degree students in Metropolia: Find a Finnish course for your needs offered by your degree programme or in Elective language studies. Ask also your degree programme and/or Finnish teacher about other possibilities to further your language learning during your studies: could you integrate Finnish into your studies or focus more on your language skills during the work placement? (Read about Ahmet’s experiences: Courage to use Finnish – growing into a professional). Find tips and materials to learn the language in the Job Teaser resources. Other language learners: Check the selection of Finnish courses available in Metropolia Open UAS in 2021 and find a course for your needs. If you are searching for a job and you already know the basics of the language, find my Youtube videos Kerro itsestäsi työnantajalle 1-3 minuutissa and Tervetuloa työhaastatteluun. Writer: Eevamaija Iso-Heiniemi works as a S2-teacher (Finnish as a second language) in Metropolia and SIMHE Continuation project. Sources: Aalto, Eija, Mustonen, Sanna & Tukia, Kaisa 2009. Funktionaalisuus toisen kielen opetuksen lähtökohtana. Virittäjä 3. 402–423. Viewed on 31 May 2021. Helsingin seudun kauppakamari, 2018. Yritysten kokemukset ulkomaisesta työvoimasta työmarkkinoilla. Katsaus koulutettujen maahanmuuttajien sijoittumiseen Helsingin seudun työmarkkinoille (pdf). Viewed on 11 June 2021. Internations 2021. Expat Insider 2021 survey report. Viewed on 15 June 2021. Jäppinen, Tuula 2010. Suomi (S2) korkeakoulutettujen työssä – Millainen kielitaito riittää? Soveltavan kielitieteen tutkimuksia AfinLA-e. Published on 14 January 2011. Viewed on 15 June 2021. Komppa, Johanna 2015. Työnantajan odotukset, työntekijän vastuu ja työyhteisön tuki. Näkökulmia korkeakoulutettujen maahanmuuttajien ammatillisen suomen oppimiseen. Soveltavan kielitieteen tutkimuksia AFinLA-e. Published on 13 January 2016. Viewed on 27 May 2021. Lehtimaja, Inkeri 2017. Korkeakoulutetun maahanmuuttajan oikeus oppia Suomea (pdf). Kieliverkoston verkkolehti Kieli, koulutus ja yhteiskunta. Viewed on 31 May 2021. Mitchell, Rosamund & Myles, Florence 1998: Second language learning theories. London. Arnold. Taloustutkimus Oy. 2020. Kotona Suomessa – Selvitys maahanmuuttajien rekrytoimisesta: Tutkimusraportti (pdf). Kotona Suomessa -hanke, Elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus. Published on 15 May 2020. Viewed on 2 June 2021. Yle News: Brasilialaismies tahtoo Suomeen niin kovasti, että alkoi tubettaa suomeksi. Published on 13 May 2021. Viewed on 15 June 2021.
Mentoring in the time of corona: networks, insights and improved employability for international talents
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ― Benjamin Franklin Expertise today and in the future is all about continuously learning, sharing and interacting with others (3). This applies to all professional stages - from juniors to seniors. Mentoring programs, currently popular and numerous, are founded on the same idea of enabling networks and developing competences in interaction. This is particularly invaluable for international graduates. In our case, this spring with the COVID-19 pandemic gave us a unique chance to experience a virtual learning journey together, as a mentor and a mentee. Daniel’s perspective: networks, insight and improved competences for the mentee For international graduates in Finland, besides Finnish language skills, networks and knowledge of the local professional practices are immensely important for finding a job (4, 5). I joined the EntryPoint programme as a mentee because I have an extensive education from this country in the fields of business and education, yet no expert level experience so far. I therefore felt I needed some guidance from an experienced professional and decided to take action to improve my employability. The discussions with my mentor Marika helped me better understand the local job market, my options for a career path and ways to develop my self-preparedness. Marika connected me to a whole new range of networks and services and helped me identify my utmost competences and skills. I discovered the connections between my skill sets and how to integrate them in my career path. The experience was eye-opening. Marika’s perspective: diversified professional perspectives and new views for the mentor Mentoring is a learning experience also for the mentor (2). My day job at Metropolia focuses on international talents’ employability, yet also on the personal level the topic motivates me and I am always interested in learning new. I therefore wanted to volunteer as a career mentor and share my professional experiences and insights as a private person as well. The experience opened new views for me not just to myself, but also to employability, the education sector, Finland, professionalism and human interaction. The mentoring discussions made me think about organisational learning as well, so crucial for any organisation today (see e.g. 2). I realised that we can all do mini-scale mentoring in any encounter in an expert organisation. Moreover, for internationalising organisations, cross-cultural mentoring could definitely be used as a tool to develop staff competences for both mentors and mentees. Leap to digital: surprisingly effortless and efficient Our five-month mentoring program started in January 2020 and took an unexpected turn in March with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing us to adjust to virtual meetings. Luckily, we had met face-to-face once before, immediately establishing a rapport based on a combination of friendship and professional support. Shared professional and personal interests, such as helping others and teaching, made it natural for us. As first-timers in career mentoring, going suddenly digital meant stepping out of our comfort zone. Mentoring is based on openness, trust and confidentiality, which in a virtual environment requires a different type of a focus on the process and the choice of tools. The communication needs to be structured and goals clear particularly when using social media. (1.) We ended up using WhatsApp messages and video calls and also shared material in LinkedIn. Using such common social media made the communication surprisingly effortless and quickly more informal than perhaps in a face-to-face setting. The uniqueness of the crisis situation also brought us closer together on a personal level. However, we did have a structure of working together as well: we set goals and topics for each video call, whereas messages were used for updates, follow-up and building a rapport. The organiser of the program, Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce, also arranged joint Zoom meetings for mentees and mentors for sharing experiences. These were not only fun but also supported the process and gave us new perspectives to what we were doing. Mentors also met in virtual peer sessions which helped us mentors face the new normal and brought in even more professional networks for us. We both learned new ways of communicating and the experience actually also motivated Daniel to write a PhD research proposal on remote working. Mentoring as a tool for international students’ career development 80% of Finnish employers say that they are open to multiculturality (5), yet the employment rates of international graduates from Finnish higher education institutions are significantly lower than those of locals (6). Employers need to start opening doors to international talents. Moreover, higher education institutions and Finnish society at large need to rethink their support for employability to get more talents to work in Finland. (4.) Mentoring provides an excellent and natural way to tackle the employment challenges. For instance, it provides networks and field-specific tacit information, develops professional competences and at the same time empowers the mentee through positive feedback (2). These are important for any junior expert, yet even more so for international graduates who struggle with the lack of local working life connections as well as with sometimes rather discouraging job search experiences. Activeness and action needed to build a successful career Just like in any competitive career building, the success of a mentoring process is dependent on the international student’s activeness – it is their career after all. The mentee needs to be open about their goals and needs, as the process is always unique to each mentoring relationship (2). The most important step is the first one: to grasp the chances available. In the Helsinki region plenty of opportunities are available for different needs, for example: EntryPoint mentoring by Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce (in English) FIKA mentoring program and networking program Dörren by Luckan Integration (in English) Womento mentoring for educated women by the Family Federation of Finland (in English) Suomen Mentorit mentoring by the association Suomen Mentorit ry (in Finnish) Yrittäjien Mentorisi.fi mentoring for entrepreneurs by the Finnish federation of entrepreneurs Suomen Yrittäjät (page in Fnnish but the search and mentoring are available in English) NewCo Helsinki mentoring services for start-ups by NewCo Helsinki (in English) Several higher education institutions also have their own mentoring programs for students and alumni Mentee – take your first step towards goal-oriented career building! Mentor – why not use your professional expertise for helping somebody get started in their career? Organisations – encourage your employees to share and develop their expertise and build networks with talented graduates! The EntryPoint mentoring program is part of the AIKO Talent Boost project activities of the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce, funded through the Council of Tampere Region. Metropolia University of Applied Sciences is one of the project partners. The program for autumn semester is open for applications until 31 August 2020. Writers: Daniel Boateng is a qualified teacher and holds an MSc in Business and Health. He lives in Finland. Marika Antikainen is a project manager working in SIMHE-Metropolia. Sources: 1. Ala-Tommola, Sirpa (toim.) 2017. Jokainen opiskelija ansaitsee eMentorin! eMentoroinnin kehittäminen ammattikorkeakouluopintojen ja työelämän rajapinnassa. Kajaanin ammattikorkeakoulun julkaisusarja B 78 / 2017. Viewed on 3 June 2020. 2. Karjalainen, Merja 2010. Ammattilaisten käsityksiä mentoroinnista työpaikalla. Jyväskylä Studies on Education, Psychology and Social Research 388. Jyväskylän yliopisto. Viewed on 2 June 2020. 3. OECD 2019. OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030: Conceptual learning framework - Skills for 2030. Viewed on 1 June 2020. 4. OKM 2019. Kansainvälisten korkeakouluopiskelijoiden maahantulo ja integroituminen sujuvaksi yhteistyöllä. Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriön julkaisuja 2019:31. Published on 16 September 2019. Viewed on 2 June 2020. 5. Taloustutkimus Oy. 2020. Kotona Suomessa - Selvitys maahanmuuttajien rekrytoimisesta: Tutkimusraportti (pdf). Kotona Suomessa -hanke, Elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus. Published on 15 May 2020. Viewed on 2 June 2020. 6. Vipunen 2020. Education Statistics Finland: Placement after Graduation. Viewed on 2 June 2020.
Blog introduces information, tips and insights that help international talents with a higher education background to integrate and find their study and career paths in Finland. The blog is part of Metropolia’s #talentboost actions.
Outi Lemettinen (head editor)
Riikka Wallin
Anu Luoma
Email addresses: firstname.surname@metropolia.fi
Editorial Board handles all the publications of Various Variables blog before publishing.
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