Fears tighter Finnish immigration laws could deter IT talent
A new wave of restrictive immigration laws threatens to significantly hamper efforts by Finnish firms to recruit international IT talent
By
Gerard O'Dwyer
Published: 27 Nov 2024 11:36
Business and industry leaders fear that Finland’s centre-right government’s stiffened resolve to reduce the inflow of immigrants and tighten work visa requirements will invariably hurt the economy and Finland’s reputation as a Nordic hub for technology and innovation.
Finland will struggle to attract international IT talent against the backdrop of hostile anti-immigration policies, according to a labour market stability survey conducted jointly by the Union of Academic Engineers and Architects (AEA/Tekniikan Akateemisten Liitto) and the Union of Professional Engineers (Insinööriliitto).
The survey found that 45% of technology and engineering professionals currently resident and working in Finland would have difficulty recommending the Nordic country as a welcoming destination for foreign talent to move to. Just 15% of respondents said they would recommend Finland as a worthwhile career move.
The survey results coincide with data that reveals foreign inventors are playing a greater role in contributing to the innovation output of Finnish companies and research institutes. Data from 2023 showed that foreign inventors partnered in some 60% of patents sought by Finnish institutions and companies in that year.
“This situation is unsustainable. Finland is driving the very people who can create future innovation and economic growth out of the country. It’s pointless for decision-makers to talk about improving recruitment conditions in the labour market if the reality for attracting foreign talent to the country is uninviting,” said Juhani Nokela, director of public affairs at the AEA.
Finland’s leading employer federations have opened a broad dialogue with key government departments to explore a range of innovative solutions to bolster the ability of public and private sector enterprises in Finland to more easily recruit IT talent from abroad, and in particular from non-European Union (EU) countries.
Among the solutions presented by employer groups is a proposal that English replace Finnish as the primary working language in export-led industries. Business associations, led by Finland’s Chemical Industry Federation (CIF/Kemianteollisuus), are advocating the use of the English language as a tool to boost the country’s international competitiveness.
Solutions grounded on a more pliable work-based migration policy combined with relaxing the strict requirement for Finnish or Swedish language skills would alleviate existing labour shortages, said Anni Siltanen, the CIF’s chief advisor on skills and competence.
“If Finland really wants to attract the best possible talent it must find ways to do just that and not put limits on the number of foreign job applicants,” said Siltanen.
Business speak
A growing number of Finland’s export corporations, most with a strong international focus, already use English as a primary language across their domestic and overseas operations. These include Finnish multinationals Nokia, Rovia (Angry Birds), F-Secure, Marimekko (fashion), Nordic Bank, Swappie and Fortum (energy).
This situation is unsustainable. Finland is driving the very people who can create future innovation and economic growth out of the country
Juhani Nokela, AEA
Although employers want a general relaxation of immigration rules, the Finnish government, which includes the nationalist right-wing Finns Party, favours a more restrictive skills-based solution.
The labour market stability report, which drew responses from 1,044 English-speaking technology experts who have been living and working in Finland for up to 20 years, found that 88% of those surveyed hold the view that Finland will become a more inhospitable destination for foreign IT talent and migrants over the next five years.
Just 14% of respondents felt the country was likely to be in a better position to attract international IT professionals in the future.
Fewer IT specialists are applying for new residence permits in Finland, according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (MEAE). Moreover, the data revealed that only 50% of IT students who attend colleges and universities in Finland choose to remain in the country after completing their studies.
The MEAE, as part of the government’s skills-based immigration and work visa agenda, is preparing legislation that would grant permanent residency to students who have completed a master’s degree in Finland and passed a Finnish or Swedish language competency test.
Finland’s tightening immigration policies, and the impact on the country’s ability to lure foreign professionals, is reflected in the MEAE’s first-half year figures. The latest data shows that first-time work visa applications by IT specialists dropped to 604 in the period from January to June 2024, down from 1,000 applications for the corresponding six-month period in 2023.
Increasing global demand
Finland’s employment minister, Arto Satonen, attributed the labour market’s difficulties in attracting international IT talent to the challenge of competing with increasing global demand for technology professionals.
“There is much room to improve. Right now, Finland isn’t sufficiently positioned to attract talent globally or even from other EU countries. We need to address these issues if we are to meet the demand that exists for IT professionals in both our public and private sectors,” said Satonen.
There is much room to improve. Right now, Finland isn’t sufficiently positioned to attract talent globally or from other EU countries. We need to address these issues if we are to meet the demand for IT professionals
Arto Satonen, Finland’s employment minister
Pressure to relax work-based immigration rules is building within prime minister Antti Orpo’s four-party centre-right coalition. The centrist Swedish People’s Party (SFP/Svenska Folkpartiet i Finland) has tabled a proposal to expand the annual intake of immigrants with skills to 40,000.
The SFP’s proposal, which prioritises immigrants with IT skills, conforms with the Orpo government’s new work-based residence permits’ legislative plan that would create a two-tier labour market system under which foreign IT talent and unskilled workers originating from outside of the EU would be treated differently.
A central component of the proposed two-tier reform is the so-called “three-month rule”. Unskilled foreign workers, under this rule, will have three months to find a new job should they be laid off by their employer. Those unable to find new work will have their residency permits revoked and be deported. The time ceiling for foreign IT talent, and other skilled professionals, is six months.
In a counter move, Finnish employers petitioned the government to extend the time limit for jobseeking skilled and unskilled foreign workers to between six and 12 months.
“Companies and employers want a more relaxed work-based immigration system that makes it easier for them to recruit the talent they need from abroad – talent they have difficulties finding in Finland right now. This government must do better to make the country a more attractive place for foreign professionals to work,” said Otto Andersson, the SFP’s Parliamentary Group chairman.
In September, Finland’s business and industry chiefs asked the Orpo government to re-evaluate its labour market reform plans. However, on 17 October, the government sent the three-month rule bill to the Eduskunta (national parliament) with the expectation that it will pass into law in December 2024.
The three-month rule model proposed by the government is harmful to the economy and harmful to Finland’s image, said Suvi Pulkkinen, a senior policy advisor at the Finnish Chamber of Commerce.
“Extending the period and changing it to a jobseeking period, based on the jobseeker’s own timeline, would show that the government has the self-confidence to critically examine its previous decisions and make the necessary changes. Above all, it would also send an important signal to international specialists already resident in Finland,” said Pulkkinen.
