Finland to expand skilled-worker hiring from PHL

FINNISH companies are looking to hire more skilled workers from the Philippines to plug gaps in its aging demographic profile, a Finnish recruiter said.

“Filipinos in general are a good fit for Finland from the cultural point of view,” Elina Santalahti, executive vice-president for global talent solutions at Finnish recruitment company Barona, told BusinessWorld.

“As we all know, Filipinos are quite good at adapting to different cultures,” she added.

She also said that Filipino employees are respected in Finland for being “hardworking, reliable, committed, and well liked” within the Finnish workforce.

Barona has been recruiting in the Philippines for 15 years for trades like nursing, culinary services, welding, and computer numerical control (CNC) machining.

Finland expects close to half of its workers to retire by 2040, which will result in talent gaps in social and health services, as well as business, sales, and industrial roles, she said.

As a result of this major workforce turnover, Finland will need to hire 1.37 million new workers by 2040.

Amiko Group International Recruitment Human Resources Consultant William Knoblock said many industries in Finland are running out of Finnish workers.

“That is why we need Filipino workers. They are skilled, hard workers, and respected… We see the struggle right now to get actual Finnish workers over there,” he said.

“Skilled workers are in high demand almost all the time. Those are the main focus right now, like concrete mixers and welders… Who knows what the future holds and what will come, but we hope that it will also spread to other fields as well,” he added.

Citing an internal survey, Ms. Santalahti said Finnish companies that need new employees require certain skills.

She also cited the declining level of English in the Philippines, especially among service workers.

“We noticed that the level of English declined during COVID… that has been a bit of a challenge lately in the service sector because they need to be fluent,” she added.

Amiko and Barona were among the four Finnish recruitment companies that visited the Philippines during Friendship Week between the two countries.

A job fair at SM Megamall focused on candidates in the services and hospitality industry, welders, and CNC machinists. — Justine Irish D. Tabile