We solve: Recruiting international students in Satakunta and increasing the value of the region and higher education institutions
Satakunta trains international experts, but students leave after graduation, even though Satakunta and Finland as a whole will need more and more international experts in the future.
In today's working life, it is common for a work community to be made up of people from many different cultural backgrounds. Often the working language may be English, and many softwares, materials and documents are written in languages other than Finnish. Understanding a foreign language and working in a multicultural community is important in today's work.
International students and their employment in local workplaces will increase diversity in school and work environments. Studying and working in a diverse team enriches everyone involved. It also helps local businesses and industries in need of internationally skilled people and increases the region's attractiveness and retention of students and researchers, which in turn can attract investments and innovation to the region.
Help with skills shortages and recruiting international talent
The Should I Stay or Should I Go project, funded by the Regional Council of Satakunta and led by Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (Samk), aims to increase the recruitment skills of employers in Satakunta and the job search skills of international students. The aim is that employers in Satakunta will recruit more international students. The aim is also to encourage more international students to stay in Satakunta after their studies.
The early part of the year has been a busy time for the Should I Stay or Should I Go project - attending events and fairs, contacting and interviewing companies and students, and meeting other actors working on the issue. During March, the project team will organise a total of three workshops at Pori and Rauma campuses. The workshops will help students to prepare their CVs, create a jobseeker profile on the YourAgent.fi jobseeker service and students will also make a video introduction of themselves to be attached to their CVs. At the same time, companies in the region will be encouraged to use YourAgent.fi to search for suitable talent, which the service will propose on the basis of a match between the applicant and employer profiles.
More workshops for students, as well as for employers, are planned for the autumn. In addition, workshops will take place in secondary schools. The focus of the autumn workshops will shift from job search skills to more domestic work culture and its laws. The aim is also to organise a face-to-face meeting between employers and employees in the form of a "fast-track recruitment", i.e. meetings to get to know each other and, in the best case, agreeing to a traineeship or a job!
Did you know?
- Nearly 1000 international students will study at Samk in 2023-2024 in total of eight English degree programmes
- Finland needs foreign labour as there will be around 130 000 fewer people of working age by 2030 (https://ek.fi/tavoitteemme/innovaatiot-digitalisaatio-ja-osaava-tyovoima/tyoperainen-maahanmuutto/)
- YourAgent.fi - a talent management service built to help local employers and international students meet each other
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About the writer:
I have a strong entrepreneurial mindset and long experience in online businesses, among others. I have built up expertise in innovation, product development and entrepreneurship in healthcare, marine industry applications and mentoring young companies. At BIC, my role is to integrate international students into the Satakunta region and to encourage local companies to recruit international talent.
Ollipekka Kivin is a researcher in BIC's Should I Stay Should I Go project.
