Happiest country in the world is looking for urgent foreign labor

At the head of the list of “happiest countries in the world”Finland is struggling to find foreign workers to alleviate its demographic crisis and solve its labor shortage, one of the most serious in Europe.

“It is now widely recognized that we need a staggering number of people … to help cover the costs of the aging generation», He explains to AFP Saku Tihveräinen, talent scout for the Talented Solutions agency.

Most Western countries are facing demographic aging, but few feel the effect like this Scandinavian country of 5.5 million inhabitants, with the greatest shortage of skilled workers in the OECD.

Finland has four over 65 for every ten people of working age. By 2030, this ratio will drop to one to two, which would put it only behind Japan in the world.

The government calculates that needs a positive net migration of 20,000 to 30,000 people each year – double that now – to maintain its public services and geriatric care at its level of excellence and to compensate for the impending deficit in the pension system.

After years of inertia, business and government “are at a tipping point and they recognize the problem,” says Charles Mathies.

Researcher on education and migration at the Academy of Finland, Mathies is one of the experts consulted for the government program “Talent Boost”, launched four years ago to increase the professional attractiveness of the country.

Among the professionals sought are Spanish health workers, Slovak metallurgists, computer scientists and Russian, Indian or Filipino maritime experts.

“Problem of mentality”

Despite its good public services and low levels of crime and inequality, Finland struggles to attract foreign talent due to the Difficulty of its language, its harsh climate and also a certain closure of its commercial fabric.

Ahmed (name changed) came to the country for family reasons, and despite long experience in the booming digital product design industry, he was unable to find a job.

“There has never been a lack of jobs, it’s a problem of mentality,” said the 42-year-old Briton who, while looking for work in Finland, received offers from Norway, Qatar, UK or Germany.

He eventually chose to work in the German city of Düsseldorf, where he comes and goes every week from Helsinki.

“A lot of Finnish companies and organizations are very fond of using Finnish and speak Finnish very fluently,” says Saku Tihveräinen. But “as the labor shortage worsens, we see companies looking for other solutions,” added the headhunter.

For example, he cites the case of a sprawling tech factory that managed to hire around 2,000 people in six months after introducing English as a working language.

At the same time, the mayor of Helsinki, Jan Vapaavuori, mobilizes large communication companies to improve the attractiveness and visibility of the city.

Convincing single people is not a big problem, but attracting couples and families is difficult because “spouses always have enormous problems finding decent work”, Explain.

Even so, the mayor trust asian immigration and in the change of priorities caused by the pandemic which, according to him, has reinforced the values ​​of his city: “safe, functional, reliable and predictable”.

(With information from AFP / By Sam Kingsley)

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