International expertise and labour

According to a number of reports, the availability of talent is one of the biggest obstacles to growth and internationalisation in companies and other organisations. Finland’s working age population is decreasing, and population growth is based exclusively on immigration.

Without sufficient immigration, the supply of labour and, in the longer term, employment will fall significantly, which will affect Finland’s economic wellbeing, dependency ratio, employment rate and sustainability gap. Finland competes with the rest of the world for labour and the best talent.
 
Finnish companies need skilled employees, particularly employees with special skills not currently available in Finland. The immigration of skilled labour into Finland will help to put Finnish innovation on a stronger and more international footing, and will attract international investment to Finland. This in turn will create new jobs.

 When promoting the measures on labour migration, preventing the exploitation of foreign labour must be considered. It is not possible to develop a labour immigration policy in a sustainable way without ensuring that foreign workers do not fall victim to exploitation.

Greater diversity in society and working life will make Finland more attractive to international talent and investors, while also making a decisive contribution to improving the employment rates among immigrants already living in Finland. Having a more international working environment will encourage international graduates and researchers to settle in Finland, and prevent the so-called brain drain.

Immigration of international experts and labour is developed through the national Talent Boost programme, which is coordinated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and the Ministry of Education and Culture.