The images and realities of foreign top professionals in Finnish working and living environments

In the immediate future foreign labour will play an increasingly important role in the competitiveness of expertise-intensive firms and whole urban regions in Finland as has already happened in many other western countries in recent years. Due to high birth rates at the late 1940s and the early 1950s compared with almost half smaller birth rates in the early 1970s the number of retiring people will increase dramatically in relation to people entering the labour market. Labour shortage may be eased by educational reforms and by raising the age of retiring from the labour force, but one crucial part of the solution is foreign labour that should fill in the gap in the Finnish labour markets. At the moment labour shortage is visible in only some branches of the fastest growing industries and the slowing world economy fades the visibility of even these shortages. However, the fast growth of economy in previous years gave the first ideas about the attractiveness of Finland due to labour shortage mainly in the information technology related business. Professionals from around the world came to fill this rather strictly determined gap on skills. This study aims at a profound understanding of key issues in attracting and retaining foreign professionals in Finnish working and living environments. Although this study focuses on professionals in IT-industry, it shoul provide a wider picture of Finland and its industries abilities to attract labour force in immediate future. (project still running untill June 2002)

The images and realities of foreign top professionals in Finnish working and living environments

In the immediate future foreign labour will play an increasingly important role in the competitiveness of expertise-intensive firms and whole urban regions in Finland as has already happened in many other western countries in recent years. Due to high birth rates at the late 1940s and the early 1950s compared with almost half smaller birth rates in the early 1970s the number of retiring people will increase dramatically in relation to people entering the labour market. Labour shortage may be eased by educational reforms and by raising the age of retiring from the labour force, but one crucial part of the solution is foreign labour that should fill in the gap in the Finnish labour markets. At the moment labour shortage is visible in only some branches of the fastest growing industries and the slowing world economy fades the visibility of even these shortages. However, the fast growth of economy in previous years gave the first ideas about the attractiveness of Finland due to labour shortage mainly in the information technology related business. Professionals from around the world came to fill this rather strictly determined gap on skills. This study aims at a profound understanding of key issues in attracting and retaining foreign professionals in Finnish working and living environments. Although this study focuses on professionals in IT-industry, it shoul provide a wider picture of Finland and its industries abilities to attract labour force in immediate future. (project still running untill June 2002

Workaholic or easygoing? Interpretations of National Culture in Industries with Immigrant Workforce in Finland

Growing immigration creates linguistically and culturally diverse working environments. National cultural characteristics are common concepts in everyday discourse in culturally heterogeneous workplaces as well as in academic research on work environments and management. By analysing empirical interview data from two arenas of productive activity in Finland, we show how national cultural characteristics are understood differently depending on the structural positioning of the arena in the local–national–transnational–global continuum. The data consists of a total of 53 in-depth interviews of foreign-born and Finnish-born experts working in high tech industries and research organizations, and white-collar and blue-collar workers in metal industries. Results illuminate how national interactive specificity is interpreted differently in global and local–national productive arenas. For instance, depending on the type of work, Finns could be describe as workaholics or as easy-going employees. The most central national cultural stereotypes have different interpretations among employees in the high tech business (global arena) and metal industries (mainly local and national arena)

Ulkomaisen työvoiman hyväksikäytön ehkäisy : Viranomaistyön tuen tarpeet ja tietokatveet

Työperäisen maahanmuuton lisääntyessä myös ulkomaisen työvoiman hyväksikäytön uskotaan kasvavan Suomessa. Ongelman ehkäiseminen edellyttää ilmiöön liittyvää tietoa sekä panostusta resursoinnin ja viranomaisyhteistyön kehittämiseen. Tämän lisäksi on tarkoituksenmukaista, että ihmiskauppaan liittyvä keskustelu ja siihen liittyvät ehkäisytoimenpiteet laajenevat ja tarkentuvat työperäisen hyväksikäytön alueella ja mahdollistavat puuttumisen myös ilmiön lievempiin muotoihin. Tässä selvityksessä tarkastellaan asiantuntemuksen tuen tarpeita ja tiedon katvealueita, joita työperusteisia oleskelulupahakemuksia käsittelevillä ja ulkomaalaisten työntekoa valvovilla viranomaisilla on liittyen ulkomaisen työvoiman hyväksikäytön tunnistamiseen ja torjuntaan. Selvityksen painotus on lupaprosessissa ottaen huomioon myös uuden lakimuutoksen avaamat mahdollisuudet työperäisen hyväksikäytön ehkäisylle

Alueellinen resilienssi ja työperusteinen maahanmuutto : Kasvihuoneteollisuuden ulkomainen työvoima Närpiön seudulla

Tutkimus tarkastelee Närpiön seudun (Närpiö, Korsnäs, Kaskinen) kasvihuoneteollisuuden ulkomaista työvoimaa työmarkkinoiden, palvelujen ja ryhmien välisten suhteiden näkökulmista. Viitekehys on alueellinen resilienssi, joka viittaa alueen kykyyn mukautua pitkäaikaiseen kehitystä haittaavaan stressitekijään (työvoimapula) ja kykyyn palautua kehityksessä ilmenneestä häiriöstä (työperusteisen maahanmuuton kumuloituneet haasteet). Närpiön seudun kunnat ovat pieniä (n. 13 000 hlö), mutta vieraskielisten osuus on lähes yhtä suuri kuin pääkaupunkiseudulla. Tulijoille on ominaista vähäinen koulutus ja kielitaidon puute, mikä asettaa heidät potentiaalisesti haavoittuvaan asemaan. Tämä olisi huomioitava kansallisen työperusteisen maahanmuuttopolitiikan tavoitteissa. Seudun sopeutumiskyky pitkäaikaiseen työvoimapulaan on ollut hyvä, mutta nopeasti kasvaneen työperusteisen maahanmuuton kasautuvia haasteita ei ole riittävän ajoissa kyetty ennakoimaan ja tuomaan ratkaisukeskeiseen keskusteluun. Resilienssi ennakointina ja haasteisiin reagointina ei estänyt ”häiriön” syntymistä (esim. ilmi tullut kiskonta, julkisten palvelujen haasteet) erityisesti nopeasti kasvaneen vietnamilaisyhteisön kohdalla. ”Häiriö” näkyi mediassa ja alueella käydyn keskustelun sävyn muutoksena menestystarinasta huolestuneeksi ja ongelmakeskeiseksi, vaikka sinänsä ongelmat koskivat vain osaa tulijoista. Lopuksi esitetään kehittämisehdotuksia resilienssin vahvistamiseksi. Aineisto koostuu mm. viranomaisten, järjestöjen, työnantajien ja työntekijöiden haastatteluista (N=51)

INTRODUCTION: Importance of methodological diversity for innovation system studies

free access article Introduction to Special Issue on Importance of methodological diversity for innovation system studie

Immigrants in the Innovation Economy – Lessons from Austria, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands

This report reviews good practices in linking international talent into the innovation economy and covers four benchmark countries: Austria, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands. The identified good practices are often characterised by governance models that have been developed based on the stakeholder and market needs. Often, the good practices have originated from a bottom-up approach and are carried forward by multiple stakeholders. While piloting activities is a good approach for a quick testing, successful approaches need a long-term funding base to be able to focus on content. Based on the findings of the review, we suggest to firmly integrate international talent into the Finnish innovation economy by: 1) Ensuring an enduring shared vision on international talent attraction and long-term design of actions; 2) Creating a commonly adopted strategic intent for international talent; and 3) Designing and implementing new actions for integrating international talent systemically and with continuity. Matching these three steps with three previously identified challenges, the report presents nine recommendations for action that implement the steps and address current challenges for integration of international talen

Has COVID-19 affected urban-to-rural and rural-to-urban migration patterns?

Rural–urban migration patterns in Finland, Japan, and South Korea have been relatively one-sided since at least the 1950s. Outmigration to large cities, especially to the capital regions of Helsinki, Tokyo, and Soul, has greatly diminished rural communities and rendered their future prospects more challenging. However, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have slowed this development, and perhaps even revered it. It now seems that there could be the potential for rural population growth. It was this interesting notion, evident in all three subject countries, that started the preparation for a joint virtual research seminar between the University of Helsinki’s Ruralia Institute, the Hirosaki University Faculty of Social Sciences, and the Humanities and Migration Institute of Finland Seinäjoki unit. In addition, to the academics from these institutions, regional officials from the city of Seinäjoki (Finland) and the Aomori Prefecture (Japan) also participated in the virtual seminar: COVID-19 and migration between rural regions and cities in Finland, Japan, and South Korea – Current research and preliminary reflections, which was held on 23 November 2021.Non peer reviewe