Minister of Employment Haatainen’s Team Finland visit to India will focus on promoting immigration of labour 

On her Team Finland visit, Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen will meet key authorities and companies promoting immigration of labour. A Declaration of Intent between India and Finland aimed at sustainably promoting immigration of labour will be signed on the visit. A broad delegation of companies and public administration representatives promoting immigration of skilled labour will accompany Minister Haatainen on the visit. 

Availability of labour has become a problem in an increasing number of sectors in Finland. Immigration of labour is one solution to the problem. Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen will therefore travel on a Team Finland visit to Delhi and Mumbai on 12–17 December.

The minister is scheduled to meet India’s Minister of Labour & Employment and Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and to hold discussions with major Indian companies providing digitalisation systems and personnel. 

The minister will also attend the Indian Institutes of Technology Bombay Techfest, a major event expected to attract around 200,000 participants. The Work in Finland unit, which brings together national services in Finland promoting immigration of labour, will be presented at the event.

The most important objectives of the Minister of Employment’s Team Finland visit are: 

• to establish relations with key ministries to promote skilled immigration,
• to present Finland’s measures to facilitate skilled immigration, and
• to explore opportunities for future cooperation in different industries.

Half of international specialists come from India 

India is one of the four main target countries of the Talent Boost programme, which promotes work- and study-based immigration. Around half of Finland’s international specialists already come from India. 

“India has lots of young, educated talent, which Finnish companies have also increasingly hired in recent years. It’s excellent that, on this visit, we can strengthen cooperation with India and at the same time ensure that international recruitment takes place in a way that serves both Finland and India,” said Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen.   

On the trip, a Declaration of Intent between India and Finland promoting immigration of labour will be signed, as will a joint statement by Business Finland and the Confederation of Indian Industry, representing Indian companies, which is aimed at boosting mobility of talent.

Huge skilled labour surplus in India

Since 2018, Finland has systematically taken measures in India aimed at attracting talent. During this period, a stakeholder network has been built and processes created to promote work- and study-based immigration. The Talent Boost measures focus on the specialists, students and researchers essential for the spearhead and growth sectors of Finland’s RDI activity. 

In India, there is an oversupply of almost all talent and a strong tradition of going abroad to work and study. India’s economic growth is the fastest in the world, and the country has the world’s largest population of young people.

It is projected that India will have a skilled labour surplus of around 245 million workers by 2030. The country has a vast engineering workforce, a rapidly expanding startup scene, highly skilled financial and business talent, and a long tradition in service sector expertise. 

India is investing heavily in skills development, and Finnish working life and education are viewed as highly attractive. Indian experts are well known on the Finnish labour market and their skills are valued in Finnish companies and higher education establishments.  

Delegation includes companies, cities, organisations and authorities

The Team Finland delegation includes Barona, CGI Suomi, Tsinger Works United, Kaiku HR, Värmäämö Group, ICT Direct Finland, ICT Direct India, Helsinki Partners, the cities of Espoo and Helsinki, Finnish Immigration Service, Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce, KEHA Centre, Palta, Private Employment Agencies’ Association HPL, Technology Industries of Finland, University of Helsinki, Turku Science Park, and Business Finland as well as representatives from the Finnish embassies in India and Singapore and the Finnish consulate in Mumbai. 

Inquiries:
Emily Strohm, Special Adviser to Minister of Employment, tel. +358 295 047160
Katri Niskanen, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 295 047 373