In recent years, the City of Helsinki has started to develop recruitment from abroad to ensure the long-term availability of labour. A new survey explored the experiences of nurses recruited in the social services, health care and rescue services sector and of early childhood education teachers recruited in the education sector of Helsinki as an employer and a place to live. The questionnaire survey was completed by 81 professionals recruited from abroad who had lived in Finland for an average of one and a half years.
People satisfied with Helsinki as an employer and as a place to live
The questionnaire surveyed satisfaction with different aspects of working in Helsinki. The results showed that there is widespread satisfaction with the recruitment process and working in Helsinki. Respondents were particularly satisfied with e.g. the orientation measures, working hours and the information they received about Helsinki and Finnish culture before moving to Finland. In addition, trust in the employer and supervisors was strong – even stronger than trust in management in similar staff surveys generally shown in the municipal sector. There was also widespread satisfaction with Helsinki as a home town. In particular, the even-keeled nature of daily life was seen as an attraction in Helsinki. Respondents also praised the closeness to nature and the study opportunities.
Support needed for language learning
The results also highlighted the importance of Finnish or Swedish language skills and the challenges associated with developing language skills in the workplace, in social relationships and in City services. Just over half of respondents considered their language skills to be at a beginner level, and just under half rated their language skills as intermediate.
Respondents also had the opportunity to share their thoughts by responding to open-ended questions. These responses highlighted the desire to use other commonly spoken languages, such as English, as a support language when using services and in workplace conversations. According to the open answer of one person recruited from abroad, this would make Helsinki more inclusive and accessible. Another respondent believed that language is important for future recruitment. Poor language skills make it difficult to cope at work and communicate with others.
Those recruited from abroad by the City of Helsinki receive language training before they move to Finland, and the training continues after they arrive in Helsinki. Nevertheless, the open responses expressed a wish for even more support for language skills development.
Recruits from abroad may feel left out
The results of the study highlight challenges in establishing social relationships. Almost all respondents considered it important to have Finnish friends. However, two out of five respondents did not have any Finnish friends or acquaintances. Getting to know new people was rated as the weakest factor in Helsinki's attraction. In addition to this, one in ten respondents said that they had experienced negative attitudes from Finns towards their foreign background, and one in six said that they had experienced discriminatory or offensive treatment in Helsinki.
Negative attitudes towards the recruits’ foreign background on the part of co-workers had only been experienced rarely, but experiences of inequality at the workplace are conveyed in other ways. A third of respondents did not feel that they are on an equal footing with their Finnish colleagues, and almost two out of three felt that they need to perform better than their Finnish colleagues in order for others to be satisfied with their work. Nevertheless, nine out of ten respondents still felt themselves as included in the work community, and three out of four felt that they enjoy mutual trust with their colleagues.
People more attached to their place of work than to Finland
While almost half of the respondents thought that it is likely that they will move away from Finland in the near future, just over a third thought that it is likely that they will change jobs. The results also show that job attachment is stronger for those who have lived in Finland longer. However, living in Helsinki does not lead to being rooted in the area to the same extent over time.
Almost all respondents have moved to Finland for career opportunities and have worked abroad before. This means that the respondents are a group of internationally oriented professionals who have job opportunities outside Finland. The City of Helsinki wants to hold on to talent recruited from abroad. From this point of view, it is important that they feel comfortable in Helsinki, both at work and outside the workplace. The strong trust that respondents have in their employer and colleagues is a good basis on which to build support for the process of settling in a new city in a broader sense.
