Filipino training students are encouraged to consider migration opportunities in Finland.

In a press conference on Thursday night, Finland-based Tampere Adult Education Centre (TAKK) and its Philippine partner, Ideal Visa Consultancy (IVC), introduced a range of training programs aimed at opening pathways for migration.

IVC CEO Charity Delmo believes that the partnership with Finland comes at an ideal time for the country.

“For the longest time, we have been promoting other countries like New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and the US. And here comes Finland. But because we’re very, very open to knowing more and navigating other opportunities for Filipinos, I think it came to us at the perfect time,” Delmo said.

“As early as May, we have sent our first batch already. And as of today, I think we have over 100 Filipino students directly from IDL Visa now in Finland,” she added.

Sami Puttonen, Business Tampere’s project manager, said the Finnish government has designated several countries as strategic partners in its effort to attract skilled workers — among them is the Philippines.

“The Philippines has been identified as one of the strategic locations where you want to attract talented people to come to Finland. And then because of that, I left this fact-finding mission and was looking at the different stakeholders in the Philippines,” he said.

Further, Peter Perttula, TAKK Director of Global Partnership, stressed there’s no point in encouraging someone to move halfway around the world to train for a career that doesn’t offer real job opportunities.

He then emphasized the importance of identifying the specific skills and professions that are currently in demand.

“So our mission is to find students who will study a new profession, then continue living and working in Finland, and in order to be successful, we, of course, have to listen to what the local companies tell us, what the local industries tell us. Because why would you move to the other side of the world to study in an industry where no jobs is waiting for you?,” Perttula pointed out.

Acknowledging the ongoing recession in Finland, Perttula noted that some industries continue to perform well despite the economic downturn. These include sectors such as practical nursing, food services, restaurant and institutional chefs, as well as cleaning and property maintenance.

“So currently we do have a recession in Finland, but some industries are doing okay and we hope that the recession is going to end quite soon. But now our main focus is in the nursing field,” he said.

In-demand industries

Meanwhile, TAKK practical nursing trainer, Kaisa-Leena Satamo, explained that Finland is facing a significant shortage of nurses, with around 30,000 Finnish nurses set to retire in the near future. As a result, there is a strong push to train and employ practical nurses.

“Badly needed because Finland is growing quite old. The population is aging really, really rapidly. And by 2030, so in just five years, we are going to have at least 30,000 nurses retiring. So we need more nurses and we need them from abroad,” Satamo said.

Finnish companies are actively encouraging Filipinos to consider Finland as an attractive migration destination.

Additionally, Finland is also seeking Filipinos to fill roles within its food services industry.

According to TAKK trainer on food services, Juha Alajoki, Finland is in need of additional workers in the food industry, as the number of new restaurants opening each year continues to rise.