Finland offers jobs to foreigners: the requirements

The government estimates that it will need a positive net migration of 20,000 to 30,000 people each year to maintain public services at their level of excellence and compensate for the impending deficit in the pension system.

What jobs Finland offers

Currently Finland is the country with the largest shortage of skilled workers in all of Europe, according to an OECD classification. To alleviate the shortage, the government is seeking to encourage the immigration of foreign workers to alleviate its demographic crisis.

In the face of the scourge, agencies have sprung up today that offer services to immigrants on a global scale and encourage them to settle in Finland. For example, the government has created its own government program called “Talent Boost” or boosting talents, in Spanish, to promote Finland and attract professionals.

According to government sources, health workers, maritime experts, metallurgists and IT specialists are the profiles most sought after by local businesses.

Conditions for working in Finland

One of the easiest ways to look for work in other countries is through the social network LinkedIn. In the employment tab, it is possible to filter by workplace.

Thanks to LinkedIn, there are over 6,000 jobs available in Finland. To apply, the main requirement is to have a study program in English.

The Talented Solutions agency is also looking for Argentines on the same social network. Precisely, they want to attract cloud architects and software developers.

According to the Salary Explorer website, a software developer with little professional experience can earn 2,000 euros in Finland while an experienced professional exceeds 7,000 euros per month.

According to a government survey, a family of two adults with two children spends about US $ 5,500 per month. This calculation includes the costs of renting a two-bedroom apartment, a monthly car loan payment, utilities, and groceries.

According to the Embassy of Finland in Argentina, it is possible to work and reside freely in the country for up to three months. After this period, the right of residence must be registered with a migration office in Finland.

In this sense, the embassy urges Argentines to send an email asking for this just before visiting the country for the first time. The process is electronic and you must complete a form.

Then the Embassy of Finland in Argentina makes an appointment and the corresponding fee must be paid to complete the process. Once it is ready, the diplomatic representation issues the card (or documentation).

In the case of having a passport from the European Union, Norway or Switzerland, it is not necessary to process the residence and it is possible to go to work directly in the country.

Despite the good standard of living that exists in Finland, the country suffers from attracting foreign workers due to the harsh climate and especially due to the difficulty of the language. In addition, many companies are not very inclined to change their working language, so attracting foreign talent becomes a problem.

Charles Mathies, an expert who participates in the “Talent Boost” program promoted by the government, assures that the companies and the leader himself “are at a turning point and recognize the problem”. IT specialists or maritime experts.

Mathies gives the example of a company that decided to change its working language to English, and in a few months had 2,000 more workers. For his part, the mayor of Helsinki mobilized large communication companies to improve the attractiveness and notoriety of the city and bet on Asian immigration and the change of priorities caused by the pandemic which, according to him, has reinforced the values ​​of its city: “safe, functional, reliable and predictable”.