Finland is facing a massive skilled labour shortage, therefore its government is planning to double the number of work immigrants entering the country and triple international student placements by 2030. The Finnish ‘Minister of Economic Affairs and Employment’, Tuula Haatainen, signed a “joint declaration of intent on Migration and Mobility” with ‘Minister of State for External Affairs’ V. Muraleedharan during a visit to India aimed at pitching the country as a work destination for Indians. India has recently signed similar agreements with Germany and the United Kingdom (U.K.). In particular, Finland hopes to attract nurses and workers in the technology and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors. However, the Minister said that a path to citizenship may not be on offer as yet. Finland is a country of about 5.5 million people, with only about 2.5 million in the workforce, and an increasing rate of retirement: the government wants to invest about 4% of its GDP in the R&D sector and needs more trained employees now that more than 70% of Finnish companies are hampered by a shortage of skilled labour. As a result, Finland is offering to facilitate work migrants along with families, offering daycare, education and healthcare as well as undertaking half the cost of teaching them the local language. Beyond technology, ICT and the healthcare sector, Finland lacks people in the service sector, particularly in tourism, hostels and restaurants. Read more on Thehindu.com and visit Workinfinland.com
