Municipalities in Southern Finland consider recruitment of skilled workers from China

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Finnish municipalities in the southern province of Uusimaa are considering the recruitment of skilled labour from China. The plan is to offer Chinese metalworkers, nurses, and other skilled individuals an opportunity to come to Finland in order to work in Finnish municipalities within the framework of an official system.
      "The recruitment from China could help to alleviate our shortage of labour. The Chinese are known as diligent and happy people", said Erkki Leppänen from Adulta, one of Finland’s largest adult education centres, and a non-profit organisation owned by the municipalities of Tuusula, Kerava, Järvenpää, and Mäntsälä.
      Leppänen was among a Finnish business delegation which made a visit to the cities of Shenyang and Dalian in Northeastern China last week.
      During the visit Leppänen made contacts with local adult education organisations who are already sending Chinese workers for example to Japan and New Zealand. Leppänen reported that the Chinese were very interested in starting cooperation with Finland.
     
The idea is that skilled workers could attend a preliminary Finnish language course already in China. Following the course they could come to Finland in order to work in the country for one to three years, while at the same time receiving education under apprenticeship training.
      The annual number of students taking part in Adulta’s programmes is some 11,000 individuals. Adulta also arranges apprenticeship training or on-the-job-training for immigrants.
      Some 25,000 people are estimated to leave the Finnish labour market every year, which is roughly equal to half a million people in the course of twenty years.
      "Already today it is difficult to find workers for the metals and construction sectors. One way to alleviate the shortage would be to increase immigration of skilled labour", Leppänen noted.
     
Adulta has planned to import Chinese workers into Finland in cooperation with the Hyvinkää Adult Education Centre and Innofocus, the Adult Vocational Education Centre of Western Uusimaa.
      According to Leppänen, the municipalities have given the green light for the preliminary plans, while the launch of the operation still requires several official decisions.
      "This would be conducted in cooperation with the Chinese authorities, in order to prevent any uncontrolled activities", Leppänen concluded.
     
The China project of the education centres in Uusimaa is only in its initial stages. However, provided that the proposed actions go ahead as intended, the first Chinese workers within the framework of the planned system could arrive in Finland in the course of next year, according to Leppänen.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  President Halonen urges China to improve workers´ rights (7.9.2007)
  Who are the newcomers that Finland wants? (13.12.2005)
  Employers´ Confederation: Finland must encourage immigration of skilled labour (11.3.2003)
  Poll: Small majority do not see immigration as solution to labour shortage in Helsinki region (4.1.2007)

Links:
  Press release 4.9.2007: President Halonen in China
  Adulta

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