What are the possibilities of an Employability Ecosystem for International Professionals in Finland?

Even in our deep ocean, there are ecosystems at work with no light whatsoever down in the deepest portions of the oceanic abyss. – Alan Stern

The quote looks very simple but its meaning is as deep as the ocean. In the deepest oceans, many ecosystems are surviving with no light, which is also an indicator of hope. Developing a workable successful human ecosystem in any country is challenging especially when one has to incorporate people with different backgrounds, ethnicities, values and education levels. Nevertheless, it is possible, as many countries have achieved such a human-based ecosystem successfully. Many countries are still struggling to get to the point where people from different backgrounds bring added value to the work-life ecosystem.

Attracting and Retaining Skills in Finland

For the last two decades, Finland has attracted thousands of highly skilled professionals in the form of either students or direct employees in companies. However, not all professionals are able to integrate and form integral units in the Finnish work-life ecosystem.

In Helsinki Kasvua kansainvälisistä osaajista -seminar (29.8.2019) attracted number of key stakeholders to share their views. The seminar was very interactive with many insightful presentations, panel discussions and group discussions. I have raised many concerns on behalf of Arffman, personal life and research experiences in Finland for effective ecosystem development. Arffman is also one of the key players due to its vague experience with immigrant integration courses and training. Main point discussed was the work-life ecosystem to attract skilled professionals to Finland. However, Finland already has the best foreign background professionals in significant numbers, and the real need is to accommodate them effectively into the work-life ecosystem in Finland. At the same time, we can attract professionals from around the world if there are still a few areas in need.

Why is it important to use the existing talent in the ecosystem? The answer is simple: these professionals either have graduated from Finnish universities or due to their family ties to Finland they are well accustomed to the Finnish work and social environment. Finland also has invested a lot of resources in these professionals in the form of education and integration so it is time to utilize them for Finnish economic growth. On the other hand, these professionals are fully ready to serve Finland in trying their best to be employed and just need a little push in the form of an inclusive ecosystem that can support them.

Arffman has multi-disciplinary teams that play a vital role in many ways for successful development of such an ecosystem. We are ready to do our share in forming an inclusive international professional ecosystem to enable Finland’s progress in this respect with leaps and bounds.

PhD Afnan Zafar

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