Qualified immigrants to be given work to match their educational achievement

Outdated Act on the Integration of Immigrants is to be amended in order to improve employment

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It has been suggested that immigrants should be given work to match their skills and their educational achievement, as a majority of immigrants have been forced to change their profession in order to get work.
      As professional degrees from other countries are not necessarily recognised here, many university-qualified immigrants in Finland are forced into low-paid jobs, as supplementary training is not available in all sectors.
     
The main reason for the problem is the Finnish Act on the Integration of Immigrants that came into force in May 1999.
      ”It has become outdated”, says Mervi Virtanen, the director of the immigration policy department of the MInistry of the Interior.
      Now the act is finally being amended. A report on the act will be debated by Parliament in its plenary session on Thursday. The actual bill for an amendment to the legislation is to be brought before Parliament next spring.
      Mervi Virtanen and Annika Forsander, the manager of immigration affairs at the City of Helsinki, believe that an amendment to legislation would improve the integration and employment of immigrants.
      ”It is imperative that the Act on the Integration of Immigrants be amended”, Forsander notes.
     
Helsingin Sanomat reported on June 8th that in spite of education, immigrants are not easily employed.
      In 2008, only one in six immigrants participating in integration training found a job in the general labour market in the Helsinki capital region.
      A total of 15,611 immigrants participated in the training.
      In general, immigrants study the Finnish language as well as working-life skills.
      According to Forsander, for example language training has to be improved, while immigrants should also gain access to training faster.
      ”The goals are high and the schedule is tight”, Virtanen admits.
     
Those immigrants who have been granted asylum have obtained training even under the current Act. However, they form just a fraction of all immigrants.
      ”Those who have arrived in Finland for some other reasons, for example in search for work or as members of a family, will be left outside the integration programme and without training. The scope of application of the act will have to be enlarged”, Virtanen continues.
      In order to be admitted to the integration programme, foreigners will have to register as jobseekers at the nearest employment office.
      ”The number of paths offering supplementary training is not adequate, which is why we will have to invest more in this kind of education”, Virtanen notes.
      ”For example foreign physicians can take part in certain adaptation training in order to achieve the qualifications required before they can practice their profession in Finland. However, such training programmes do not exist in certain other fields, for example in the humanities and social sciences”, Forsander reports.
     
When it comes to the employment of immigrants, time is the decisive factor. As the integration process takes several years, the newcomers should have an access to the right training sooner than happens today.
      According to the current law, immigrants are entitled to training for a period of three years. In certain cases it can be prolonged to five years.
      ”This period is not long enough”, comments Forsander.
     
Language training and cooperation between authorities should also be improved. Today’s bidding contests are bound to make the problem worse.
      ”The integration of immigrants has already long been regarded as a short-term project”, Forsander notes.
      ”For example language training often consists of short periods, which is why the teachers will not be able to develop their activities. While it is true that a large number of quite good and competent players are involved, the fact is that passing from one place to another is not acceptable”, Forsander argues.
     
In 2008, the total number of foreigners living in Finland was 142,256, with half of them resident in the Greater Helsinki area.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Huge differences in employment rates among immigrants from various countries (14.3.2005)
  Higher employment level for immigrants would save Helsinki millions (3.10.2008)
  Immigrants can bring considerable savings in education costs (1.3.2007)

See also:
  DEBATE: “Time running out on immigrant integration” (9.6.2009)
  Immigrants Information Point to move from Itäkeskus to Central Helsinki (27.2.2009)

Links:
  Ministry of the Interior
  Finnish Immigration Service
  Infopankki - information for immigrants

Helsingin Sanomat