International

Graduate

Employment Project

2014

Welcome

• Research task and findings

• Networking coffee break

• Seminars

• Close

Project introduction

• Why?

• Haaga Helia UoAS funded by the EU social fund

• Timescale – Spring 2014 – Autumn 2014

Spring - background information gathering, research visits, creating links with organisations.

Summer - interview businesses, graduates and other relevant organisations.

Autumn - analyse the results, publish the report findings and hold seminars

• Main outcome – to identify the issues international masters students have in finding

post graduation career opportunities

• Target groups – students/recent graduates, employers, educational establishments,

recruitment agencies, Government organisations

Background information

What is the need for the project solution is sought?

● In the capital region of 9,3% of the population are foreigners.

● Approximately 7% of students at Haaga-Helia are international students and this is

projected to rise in the future

● The Helsinki Metropolitan Area colleges have a lot of international students who

have come to Finland a variety of reasons. Their career opportunities however, are

more limited than the Finns.

● Need to stop “talent drain” and financial dependence on the state from Finnish

educated international graduates.

Focus

Berlin study trip

• Data was collected from the ITB in Berlin, Spring 2014

• Interviewed different Universities regarding

international students and the services offered to these

students.

• Comprehensive provisions – careers services,

employment councelling, internal events and tutoring.

• Limited provisions – usually offered by 3rd party

external organisations

• Some provisions (inc careers services)

UK study trip

A study trip to Sheffield Hallam university, a

partner university of HH was carried out in May.

This visit focused on Sheffield Business School

(SBS)

7797 students in under graduate and post

graduate programmes - (30%) were

international students

The faculty employs 259 members of staff

including 20 careers/employment advisors,

plus students have access to cross university

careers services and advisors

SHU Findings

Employability focus

Events

Careers councelling at all key points

Internships

&

Work placements

Tutorials

Careers and employment

centre

Network building

Company interviews

Company interview findings

Companies were asked about the following areas in relation to employing

international graduates

• Current international staffing

• Recruitment policies of recruiting non-Finns, both current and future

• Barriers to employing international staff inc language

• Networking as a method of recruitment.

• Experiences and thoughts

Current international staffing

• The average % of non-Finnish workers was approximately 10% though this includes

organisations that employ many entry level roles in the housekeeping and catering

parts of the companies.

• Of the companies interviewed only a handful of employees are at management level

and above.

• Finnish owned companies had much fewer % of non-Finns than International owned

companies.

• Some industries had a higher % of non-Finnish natives, especially in the IT industry,

though this might be shrinking also due to the additional needs now of all staff due

to downsizing.

Recruitment policies of

recruiting Non Finns

• None of the companies interviewed have any separate strategies for employing

international graduates.

• Most companies only advertise for positions in Finnish language and this is mainly through

Finnish language publications, the most popular being the Helsinki Sanomat and online

through sites such as Staffpoint and LinkedIn.

• Most companies explain that Finnish language skills are needed for all employees of an

organisation in order to both deal with customers and integrate into the workplace.

• Of the companies interviewed all of the organisations said applicants are welcome from all

nationalities but language is an important desired, if not essential part of the job

specification.

Language as a barrier to the employment of

overseas graduates/applicants

Comments regarding this included:

• worries about having to change the office language from Finnish inc machinery etc

• resistance from some members of staff feeling uneasy both in having to speak to

some members of staff in English and/or feeling isolated in the office.

• Companies worrying about losing the “Finnish-ness” of their business

• Older Finns “scared” of foreigners

Networks

• Internships are the main way of building a network with students

• Personal networks important in Finland

• Easier to recruit someone you know or can find out about through contacts

Experiences and thoughts

• All interviewees have international

friends and aquaintances, some

themselves had worked overseas.

• Understand frustrations of foreigners

in terms of securing work

• Worried about losing Finnish identity

• Understand the benefits of

internationalisation

• Feel that it may take a generational

shift

• Lack of experience with international

workers

• Regret that international people may

have to start lower down the career

ladder and prove themselves more

both work and cultural wise

Focus group interviews

Two focus groups (total 100 students) were organised to

find the opinions of young professionals in the Helsinki

region re thoughts on the following

• the employability of international graduates in Finland,

• their experiences of working with international

colleagues,

• their own experiences of being a Finn working

overseas

• to give their own ideas on how international graduates

may improve their prospects of finding long term

relevant careers within Finland.

Focus group findings

• Cultural awareness of working with colleagues of

different nations and experience of international

working was highlighted as a large weakness of

the sample group.

• Many worked in organisations that mainly

consisted of Finnish only nationals.

• Stereotypes were drawn from popular culture of

how people of different nationalities behave and

work in the workplace.

• Job hunting seminars and courses would be of use

for both international people wanting to work in

Finland, and for Finns wishing to work overseas.

Graduate interviews

• For this project 10 graduates were interviewed re their experiences both

during their time as students and post-graduation regarding their

experiences of being work prepared in Finland.

• The participants included both male and female respondents from all

over the world including North America, Europe, Asia and Russia.

• The identity of the individuals has been kept confidential to allow honest

and unrestricted answers.

• One control participant from Finland was included in the sample to allow

us to compare the experience of our overseas participants to be

compared with that of a Finnish local.

Question areas

• Background inc reasons to move to Finland to study

• Career aims before moving to Finland

• About the course inc career planning, internships and Finnish language provision

• Post graduation assistance inc help from Universities, TE, support organisations

• Post graduation Finnish language lessons

• General thoughts and experiences

Background inc reasons to

move to Finland to study

90% of the respondents studied at least at Masters level, with several studying

for further professional qualifications including PhDs and nursing qualifications.

There was a mix between those students who studied at Universities of Applied

Sciences and at traditional Finnish Universities both in Helsinki, Pori, Turku, and

Joensuu.

Subjects included Tourism, Arts and Creative Business Management,

Hospitality, IT, Biology, Nursing, Human Geography, Music, and Economics.

Career aims before moving to

Finland • 90% of participants wished to further their previous work experiences by studying at a

higher level and building on the knowledge they already had to progress in their career.

• Many participants saw that by studying further in Finland this would open up new pathways

in their field of expertise or allow them to move into new careers.

• One participant who moved to Finland as they enjoyed the lifestyle here saw studying as a

further way to integrate themselves into society here and although was looking for long term

work was happy working at a similar level as in their home country.

• The nursing student wished to move Finland to see how medicine worked outside of their

home country and to live in Europe, preferably Finland.

Internships / Paid work for the

Universities • Only 2 of the ten respondents were formally offered an internship as part of their

courses.

• The nursing student had to undergo regular work based placements to show their

competence of the nursing skills required whilst the other course offering an

internship was a Master’s of Science course in Human Geography, this also allowed

credits to be earned towards their overall qualification.

• Several other students were offered paid work by their universities; this mainly

consisted of research work relevant to their studies.

Careers councelling

• Only 20% of respondents were offered any work related counselling as part of

their studies. However neither of these respondents found the experience to be

of use to them.

• Most respondents did though receive informal counselling from their tutors on

an ad-hoc basis or if requested.

• Only one respondent could recall any specialist careers fairs for overseas

students though they did not attend.

• After graduation no students were contacted regarding any post-graduation

careers help though again some students who maintained networks with their

previous tutors have used these contacts for career development opportunities

including one respondent who used her tutor’s contacts to secure work.

Finnish language studies

During Studies

• 50% of the respondents were

required to study Finnish as part of

their course.

• The overall experience of these

lessons on a whole wasn’t positive

• No focus on applying for jobs in

Finland

After studies

• 50% of respondants are still learning

Finnish post graduation

• Time, quality of teaching and feeling

their skills are high enough already

are key reasons for stopping

lessons.

• Lack of focus on spoken Finnish and

job preperation frustrates those still

studying Finnish.

• One person did a work placement

Job hunting in Finland

• When looking for work in Finland all applicants cited that they used mostly the

internet when looking for work. Mol.fi was the main site used though many also

used their universities own websites (some not available after graduation or

obviously focussed at Finnish residents as they are all in Finnish only).

• Other job searching sources include the Helsingin Sanomat, Monster.fi, Oikotie.fi,

Uranus.fi and LinkedIn. Many jobs were only advertised in Finnish.

• Most people find the fact that lots of jobs (even ones that they feel Finnish is not

essential for) are advertised in Finnish language only. Jobs advertised in English

(or Russian) only to discover in the job description that excellent (or mother

tongue standards) of Finnish is compulsory (and in some cases a knowledge of

Swedish also is needed).

Job hunting in Finland cont…

• TE offices dont offer additional support to non-natives, no benefit of using their

services

• The job hunting process is also a long and slow one.

• People are applying for tens of jobs and not receiving any feedback from most

applications, this includes the Finnish person.

• Many of the applicants felt that their chances of finding work relative to their

professional experience and level of qualification is very slim and that they may well

have to leave Finland in order to progress their careers as envisaged which is tough

especially after they have made their lives here.

Post graduation work experience

Career progression

• 1/3 feel that they are working at a level

suitable to their qualifications and

experience

• several felt that they were

underemployed and doing jobs below

their own expectations with their

qualifications and experience.

Language in the workplace

• Mainly using English in their roles. 50%

try and use some Finnish

• Using and listening to Finnish in the work

place has improved their learning of

Finnish

• Mastering Finnish is seen as essential if

they wish to progress their careers

• All agree knowing Finnish is essential to

fully integrate into Finnish work and

society.

• The respondents all noted that the world is becoming more international and that

there seemed to be a bit of resistance from Finnish companies to use the talent

available to them outside of their own.

• This was especially noted in companies who are looking at importing/exporting

goods and how in Finland the knowledge of international immigrants could and

should be seen as a tool to gain competitive advantage

• It was also noted that many companies that claim to be international (including

incoming tourism agencies) actually don’t have any or if they do only a small

percentage of staff that are originally from outside of Finland, both in academia

and private businesses.

Internationalisation of Finnish

companies

Finnish Workplace culture

• Lack of understanding the Finnish work environment both when applying for jobs

and once in the workplace.

• Many participants felt that they did not really understand the working cultures here

in Finland compared to their home countries. This included their rights to join a

union or unemployment fund, working hours, holiday leave and general working in

Finland cultures.

• It was also noted that due to different management styles several respondents felt

unsure if or how to ask for help in the workplace.

Networking

• Another key point raised was that networks are important in Finland. Felt locals have a

competitive advantage when applying for jobs over someone that had no or limited

networks.

• Respondents wanted to increase their networks size but beyond friends, classmates and

lecturers, this was often difficult due to lack of exposure to decision makers and recruiters.

• Several thought that a lack of an internship puts them at a disadvantage over Finnish job

applicants as they have no experience of the Finish working environment.

• Also that the recruitment business here is very different to say for example to UK and North

America where recruitment agencies are much more prevalent both in the business

environment and on the high street.

Key Findings summary

• People come to Finland to study and aim to stay post graduation IF suitable work is found.

• Language is as already known a major barrier but one that may be even bigger than

previously thought. Companies might be using language as a method of recruitment rather

than the key skills and competences of each individual for each role.

• Lack of networks and work experiences here in Finland impact the chances of finding work

• Cultural awareness of immigrants working in Finnish companies and the understanding of

different cultures for companies staff is high

• More employment skills and career coaching is needed for international students. This

should be provided at all stages of the students academic journey from application to

graduation.

A positive end.

BUT…

• Students do feel that they get a good service from universities (academically) here

in Finland and Universities should use the discovered opinions to create a

competitive advantage when recruiting new students.

• International people do enjoy the way of life in Finland and want to contribute to

society post graduation.

• Most students would recommend their courses to family and friends

The future

• Aging population / Finnish labor market - Need 400 000 more workers by 2030 (BCG)

• Exports in the traditional markets are shrinking

• Need for non-Finns in certain professions eg the police - Vantaa no non-Finnish police

officers where % of non Finnish speakers is highest (YLE)

• Need for internationalisation of Finland / making use of international talent here in Finland

• Education export strategies need improving, make use of target natives

• Impact fees will have on choosing Finland

• Possible expansion of course in English in Finland (staffing issues and teaching styles)

International students in Finland

Project extension plan

Looking at securing funding for further investigations into this area of

study / new direction of study findings.

Will discuss after the coffee break

• Any suggestions?

• Willingness to help?