The nationwide network Mothers in Business responds to the shortage of international experts by providing networking opportunities, mentoring and concrete career tips to professionals.
On 26 August 2021, Helsingin Sanomat presented four international top experts who had decided to leave Finland because either their own or their spouse's career development had stalled. The challenges these experts had faced in the Finnish job market were e.g. bureaucratic practices, lower wage levels due to taxation, language requirements, a culture of cherishing personal life and privacy as well as foggy job opportunities. The same issues have also been noticed among the international members of Mothers in Business. More than 45,000 highly educated women with an international background live in Finland. Half of them have problems finding employment.
Picture by Kirsikka Heimonen
To address these challenges, Mothers in Business is launching a three-year project “MiB International” in September 2021 to ensure that no international mother is left alone in navigating Finnish working life and integration pressures. Originally initiated as a volunteer project, MiB International is responding to the concerns the members have raised about the employment difficulties of international experts in Finland.
For international women, entering Finnish job market is particularly challenging
Finding and consolidating a job takes significantly longer for women than for men who have moved to Finland from elsewhere. On the other hand, more than 75% of Finnish women are working. Starting a family also slows down the career development of women in particular.
By 2030, an additional 150,000 employees will be needed in the Finnish labor market. “The shortage of experts is real, and as a small country we are not able to train specialists in all fields. It would make sense and be more cost-effective to include those international experts in the labor market who are already in Finland. There is a risk that the whole family will leave the country if the spouse does not find employment in Finland. In that case, we will lose up to two international experts instead of one. ”
“It is almost impossible to find employment in Finland without networks,” Rabea Radix, a German-born member of the Mothers in Business community, comments.
Intercultural differences and difficulties in building professional networks can be a roadblock from the perspective of an international expert.
"Finns don’t dare to use English if they feel the slightest lack of language skills. Moreover, there is so little time spent outside the work environment for an interaction between colleagues to emerge." Radix points out.
Employment difficulties are linked to ossified “basic requirements” and weak employment support
The often unnecessarily strict requirement of proficiency in the Finnish language becomes a decisive obstacle for many in advancing their careers.
"Finnish competence is routinely asked, even though in large companies the working language has long been English and in many other expert positions English is sufficient, such as in the IT sector." Radix clarifies.
Picture by Kirsikka Heimonen
Another international member of the MiB network points to the lack of support in entering the labor market: “When I arrived in Finland, I was surprised at how much support job seekers receive. However, despite several forms of support, the most concrete, i.e. the link to employers, is missing, ” says Christine Sittang-Seilonen, who is originally from Indonesia and has recently moved to Finland
Sittang-Seilonen compares Finnish practices with Japan, her previous country of employment,: “In the Japanese TE Office, if there are interested companies, the officials check the CVs and contact the companies introducing potential candidates to them. They also wrote a letter of recommendation and the interview was agreed. If the TE Office in Finland strived for the same, the integration to working life would work more effectively. ”
The MiB International project aims to connect experts and offers opportunities for developing skills and value in the labor market in various ways. At the same time, the aim is to raise more public discussion on the issue of employing highly educated international experts in Finland.
International mothers also participated in MiB’s latest mentoring program. Livia Hakala describes the benefits of mentoring for an international mother: “MiB has been a key forum that has helped me take over my own growth. The mentoring program has restored clarity and provided resources. With my mentor, we go through my options and she actively connects me to people and opportunities. Webinars on Youtube were helpful when I updated my resume and cover letter.”
“A mentoring relationship with a local contributes not only towards network building, but also towards clarifying one’s career goals. We want to further develop our mentoring program and other similar activities through the project.” Annica Moore, Executive Director of MiB ry, says.
“We want to use the existing network and practises of MiB, improve them and make them available to international experts. ” Moore clarifies.
Mothers in Business wants to encourage all employers to review unnecessary language requirements and discriminatory structures in their recruitment processes.
“Recruiting international gems for the work community can be an immeasurable competitive advantage that brings new insights and experience into a team. This should be seen as an investment: by improving onboarding and updating the language practices in internal communication, we will meet international needs and create a globally sustainable foundation for the future of the work community. ” Moore adds.
More information:
CEO
Annica Moore
050 3525347
Mothers in Business is an organization for career oriented mothers all around Finland.
