Living and Working in Finland Information for an EU Jobseeker

Coimbra 20. – 21.5.2014 Engineers Mobility Days

EURES FINLAND

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Living and Working in Finland

• Introduction

• Labour market situation

• Searching for a job

• Training and studying

• Moving to Finland

• Living and working conditions

• Where to find further information

19.5.2014 EURES Finland 2

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5,4 million inhabitants

Parliamentary republic since 1917

Neighbouring countries: Sweden, Norway, Russia, Estonia

Two official languages: Finnish (90%) and Swedish (5,4%)

Religions: Evangelical-Lutherans (77,3%), Orthodoxs (1,1%)

Member of the EU since 1995

Foreign citizens 3,6% (mainly in Helsinki metropolitan area)

Currency: Euro

Introduction

EURES Finland

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Biggest cities - number of inhabitants Helsinki 604 000 Espoo 257 000 Tampere 217 000 Vantaa 205 000 Oulu 191 000 Turku 180 000 Jyväskylä 133 000 Kuopio 105 000 Lahti 103 000

Four seasons - cold winters and warm summers 2012 extremes: -42.7 °C (Inari) +31.0 °C (Lieksa)

EURES Finland

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Finnish labour market

76 % of employees work under a permanent full time contract

9 % of employees work under a fixed-term contract

11 % of employees have part-time contract

Women participate in the labour market whereas men. Employment rate for women is 68 %

70% of workers belong to a trade union

Labour shortages and unemployment commonly occur simultaneously in the Finnish labour market

Source: Statistics Finland 02/2013

• EURES Finland

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Finnish labour market

Employment rate 67,6 % in February 2013

Unemployment rate 8,7 % in February 2013

45 000 new vacancies at the Employment and Economic Development Office (TE Office) on average every month (2012)

Number of employed persons 26 000 less than a year ago

Source: Statistics Finland 2013, Ministry of Employment and the Economy, 2013

(OECD/ILO definition)

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UNEMPLOYED

JOBSEEKERS’

PERCENTAGE

OF THE WORKFORCE

BY MUNICIPALITY

ANNUAL AVERAGE 2012

% (number)

Source:

Ministry of Employment and the Economy,

Employment Service Statistics 2013

Regional labour market situation

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Labour shortages

Most problematic situation:

health care sector, service sector, social services and catering

TOP 10 Shortages 2013

• registered nurses

• medical doctors

• sales representatives

• accounting staff

• psychologist

• cooks/chefs

• cleaners

• physiotherapist

• social workers

• waiters

EURES Finland

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Language skills requirements

Finnish usually required, in some areas Swedish

In English may manage for example:

seasonal gardening, berry picking, kitchen work

IT, engineering, international business, research

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Foreigners in Finland

3,6 % of the population are foreigners (195 511)

Biggest nationality groups are Estonians (39 763), Russians (30 183), Swedes (8 412) and Somalis (7 468)

The sectors with most foreign workers are services and construction. As seasonal workers in agriculture and forestry

59 600 foreign jobseekers in the TE Offices, which is 8 % of all the jobseekers

Source: Statistics Finland 02/2013, Ministry of Employment and the Economy, 2013

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Employment and Economic Development Office - vacancies: www.te-palvelut.fi

Vacancies in the largest newspapers www.oikotie.fi

Academic recruitment services: www.aarresaari.net

Companies often recruit through their own internet sites.

• Typical address is: www.companyname.fi

List of 100 largest Finnish companies: www.uranus.fi

Private recruitment agencies e.g. www.hpl.fi, www.manpower.fi, www.adecco.fi, www.barona.fi, www.staffpoint.fi

Direct contact with employers!

Searching for a job

EURES Finland

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Standard application procedures

CV and application letter - possibly also copies of school leaving certificates and references

Examples of CVs: http://europass.europa.eu

Employers usually choose 3 to 5 applicants to be interviewed

Certificates and references will be studied closely

For demanding posts usually 2 to 3 interviews will be conducted; also an aptitude test is possible

Some employers make only the final selection - the rest of the recruitment process may be outsourced

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Practical training and studying

Many practical training opportunities for international students and recent graduates in Finland

Centre for International Mobility (CIMO) organizes many of the practical training programmes - see also student organisations like ELSA, IAAS, IFMSA, AIESEC

Master’s Thesis/ Thesis co-operation available

Degree studying (Bachelor’s or Master’s degree) is free of charge

More information:

• CIMO - Centre for International Mobility www.studyinfinland.fi

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International student mobility

Finland has 16 universities and 25 polytechnics

Over 350 study programmes are taught in English in higher education institutes

In 2010 appr. 9000 students came to Finland, mostly from Germany (1235), France (1208), Spain (896), Italy (522), Russia (425) and Poland (372)

89 % of the international students are generally happy or very happy with their Finnish institution of higher education and study in Finland

Finland is one of the most popular destination countries for exchange students (10th among 31 countries)

Source: Centre for International Mobility CIMO 2013

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Recognition of qualifications

Finnish National Board of Education (OPH)

Contact before coming to Finland

Recognition required for posts in public sector

Not required for private sector, unless the profession in question is regulated (e.g. electricians, pilots)

Right to practise profession needed for the following professions:

Different authorities grant the right

More information: www.oph.fi/info/recognition

• Health care professionals

• Veterinary surgeons

• Chartered accountants

• Chartered public finance auditors

• Advocates

• Seafarers

EURES Finland

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EU registration at the local police www.poliisi.fi

Population register and home municipality at the magistrate/registration office www.maistraatti.fi

Social security at the local social insurance office www.kela.fi

If employed: Tax card at the local tax office www.vero.fi

If unemployed: Employment and Economic Development Office (TE Office) www.te-palvelut.fi

Moving to Finland - First steps

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Collective agreements specifying pay rates for various sectors

If there is no collective agreement (e.g. domestic helpers), the salary should be at least 1 134 €/month in 2013)

Regular working hours are 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week, with two days' leave per calendar month worked

More information: www.tyosuojelu.fi, www.te-palvelut.fi/finnwork, www.tem.fi ˃ labour legislation

Ask for the employment contract in written form!

Terms of Employment

EURES Finland

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Examples of gross incomes

Engineer 4 000 € / month

Carpenter 2 000 € / month

Secretary 2 100 – 2 600 € / month

Bus driver 2 700 € / month

Cleaner 1 500 – 2 000 € / month

Shop assistant 1 600 – 2 100 € /month

Medical nurse 2 800 € / month

Social worker 3 000 € / month

An average Finnish salary is 3109 € / month (2011)

Source: Statistics Finland

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Progressive income tax

Example: the share of all taxes and compulsory contributions (incl. social security payments 7,1 %)

• Salary 2500 €/month → tax 26 %*

• Salary 3000 €/month → tax 29 %*

* Local taxes vary from one city/municipality to the other; members of the

Finnish Lutheran/Orthodox church pay a church tax (1 – 2,25 %)

If stay up to 6 months, you can choose also tax at source 35%

(NB! Tax deduction of 510 € each month)

More information: www.vero.fi

Taxation

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Finland European Job Days 2013 in Porto 20

Costs of living - Accommodation

Average rent for a two room flat (50 m²): 500 – 800 €/month

Average price for a two room flat: 80 000 – 160 000 €

In Helsinki metropolitan area the prices are twice as much

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Internet portals: www.oikotie.fi, www.etuovi.com

Newspapers: www.sanomalehdet.fi

Housing in Finland: www.housing.fi

Municipalities in Finland: www.kunnat.net

Youth hostels: www.hostellit.fi

Accommodation - More information

EURES Finland

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Costs of living

Food and beverage

• Milk 1 l 0,87 €

• Eggs kg 3,93 €

• Bread kg 3,56 €

• Coffee 500 g 4,11 €

• Beer 1,80 €

Public and private transport

• Petrol 95 E/ 1litre 1,67 €

• Train trip 400 km 60 €

• Bus card, 1 month 46 €

Source: Statistics Finland, National Consumer Research Centre

Others

Kindergarten 24-264 €/month

Library free of charge

Cinema ticket 10-14 €

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EURES portal

eures.europa.eu

Ministry of Employment and the Economy www.tem.fi

Further information

Foreigners working in Finland

www.te-palvelut.fi/finnwork

www.infopankki.fi

Studying and practical training in Finland

www.studyinfinland.fi

General information on Finland www.thisisFINLAND.fi

EURES Finland

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