1. Living and Working in Finland Information for an EU Jobseeker Finland October 2008

2. Living and Working in Finland Contents  Introduction  Labour market situation  Searching for a job  Training and studying  Moving to Finland  Living and working conditions  Where to find further information

3. -5,3 million inhabitants -parliamentary republic since 1917 -neighbouring countries: Sweden, Norway, Russia, Estonia -two official languages: Finnish (92%) and Swedish (5,5%) -religions: Evangelical-Lutherans (81,8%), Orthodoxs (1,1%) -member of the EU since 1995 -foreign citizens 2,5% (mainly in Helsinki metropolitan area) -currency: Euro Introduction

4. Economic structure Employed persons by industry, 2nd quarter 2007 Source: Statistics Finland Industry (19%) consists of metal and engineering products (48%), forest products (16%), consumer goods (11%) & other manufactured items (25%)

5. Characteristics of the Finnish labour market  75% of employees work under a permanent full time contract  Some 15% of employees work under a fixed-term contract, c. two thirds of these are women  Women generally participate in the labour market, their employment rate being about 71%. Women are also mainly full-time employees.  Part-time jobs are not common – only about 10% of all jobs are part-time  Some 75% of workers belong to a trade union  Labour shortages and unemployment commonly occur simultaneously in the Finnish labour market Source: Statistics Finland 2008/07

6. Characteristics of the Finnish labour market Employment and unemployment in July 2008  Number of employed persons 27,000 higher than one year earlier  Employment rate 73,4% (OECD/ILO definition)  Unemployment rate 5,2%, 144 000 unemployed (OECD/ILO definition)  60 100 new vacancies at employment offices (02/2008) Source: Labour Force Survey of Statistics Finland

7. Regional labour market situation (2007)

9. Labour shortages  recruitment problems are increasing  problems occur mostly in Helsinki metropolitan area and other larger cities  most problematic fields: metal, construction, transport, health care, hotel and catering, services TOP 10 Shortages (May 2008) - nurse- sales representative - practical nurse- newspaper deliver - cleaner- machinist (CNC, NC) - articulated vehicle driver- berry picker - cook/chef- hairdresser/barber

10. International recruitment  the EU enlargement in 2004 and the growing recruitment problems activated the international recruitment cooperation  still only about 2% of the Finnish employers looked for the foreign workforce in 2006  foreign workers are mainly recruited from Estonia, Poland and Russia

11. International recruitment  many of the Estonian workers in Finland are commuters (distance between Helsinki-Tallinn 80 km)  the ageing of the work force affects already on the offer, but especially after 2010  labour force is needed most urgently in construction and care work, as well as in services and industrial work

12.  National labour administration: www.mol.fiwww.mol.fi  EURES Portal: http://eures.europa.euhttp://eures.europa.eu  Academic recruitment services: www.aarresaari.netwww.aarresaari.net  Companies often recruit through their own internet sites. Typical address is: www.companyname.fiwww.companyname.fi  List of 100 largest Finnish companies: www.uranus.fiwww.uranus.fi  Vacancies in the largest newspapers www.oikotie.fiwww.oikotie.fi  Private recruitment agencies e.g. www.manpower.fi, www.adecco.fi, www.barona.fi, www.staffpoint.fiwww.manpower.fi www.adecco.fiwww.barona.fiwww.staffpoint.fi Direct contact with employers! Searching for a job

13. Standard application procedures  CV and application letter - possibly also copies of school leaving certificates and references  examples of CVs: http://europass.europa.euhttp://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; possible also an aptitude test  some employers make only the final selection - the rest of the recruitment process may be outsourced

14. 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 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.fiwww.studyinfinland.fi

15. International student mobility  Finland has 20 universities and 30 polytechnics  over 400 study programmes are taught in English in Finnish higher education  ERASMUS student mobility in academic year 2006-2007: appr. 6200 foreign students to Finland, mostly from Germany (1200), France (900), Spain (700), Poland (450) and Italy (400)  Finland was one of the most popular destination countries for exchange students (8 th among 31 countries)  University of Helsinki received nearly 500 students alone

16. 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: health care professionals, veterinary surgeons, chartered public finance auditors, chartered accountants, advocates, seafarers  Different authorities grant the right  More information: www.oph.fi/info/recognitionwww.oph.fi/info/recognition

17.  EU registration at the local police: www.poliisi.fiwww.poliisi.fi  Population register and home municipality at the magistrate/registration office: www.maistraatti.fiwww.maistraatti.fi  Social security at the local social insurance office: www.kela.fiwww.kela.fi  If employed: Tax card at the local tax office www.vero.fiwww.vero.fi  If unemployed: Employment office www.mol.fiwww.mol.fi Moving to Finland - First steps

18.  Contact your employment office in your home country well before your departure to Finland and ask for the E 303 -form  Register at the employment office in Finland within 7 days on your arrival and show the E 303 -form (the employment office signs the form)  Hand out the form to the Kela office  Open a bank account Transferring unemployment benefits / E 303 -form

19.  Documents concerning work and education history  E 301- form  1) The unemployment allowance (employment condition 10 months)  Basic allowance (social insurance, Kela)  Earnings-related (unemployment funds, e.g www.ytk.fi )www.ytk.fi  2) The labour market subsidy  Integration assistance to immigrants  For a single person: 24,51 €/day (in 2008)  www.kela.fi (basic allowance and labour market subsidy) www.kela.fi  www.tyj.fi (earnings-related) www.tyj.fi Finnish unemployment benefits

20.  Collective agreements specifying pay rates for various sectors  If there is no collective agreement (e.g. domestic helpers), the salary should be at least 980,40 €/month (in 2008)  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.mol.fi/finnworkwww.tyosuojelu.fiwww.mol.fi/finnwork Ask for the employment contract in written form! Terms of Employment

21.  Private sector (2006):  IT Programmer 3 528 € / month  Carpenter 2 063 € / month  Hairdresser/Barber 1 728 € / month  Truck driver 2 147 € / month  Public sector (2007):  Cleaner 1 725 € / month  Class teacher 2 995 € /month  Nurse 2 510 € / month  Librarian 2 198 € / month An average Finnish salary 2 781 €/month (2008, 2nd quarter) Source: Statistics Finland Examples of gross incomes

22.  Income tax:  Up to 6 months: tax at source 35% NB! Tax deduction of 510 € each month or 17 € per day for each working day  More than 6 months: progressive income tax  For an average Finnish salary 2 781 €/month (33 372 €/year): the share of taxes and compulsory contributions is between 21 and 26.5 %*  More information: www.vero.fiwww.vero.fi * local taxes vary from one city/municipality to the other; in addition, members of the Finnish Lutheran/ Orthodox church pay a church tax (1 – 2,25%) Taxation

23. Where to look for?  Internet portals: www.oikotie.fi, www.etuovi.comwww.oikotie.fiwww.etuovi.com  Yellow pages: www.keltaisetsivut.fiwww.keltaisetsivut.fi  Private companies: e.g. www.sato.fi, www.yh.fiwww.sato.fiwww.yh.fi  Newspapers: www.sanomalehdet.fiwww.sanomalehdet.fi  Information about housing in Finland: www.housing.fiwww.housing.fi  Municipalities in Finland: www.kunnat.netwww.kunnat.net  Youth hostels: www.srmnet.orgwww.srmnet.org Accommodation

24. How much will it cost?  Examples :  Average rent for a two room flat: 400 – 700 €/month  Average price for a two room flat: 80 000 – 120 000 €  In Helsinki metropolitan area the prices are considerably higher, in the countryside considerably lower Accommodation

25.  Information of living and working, vacancies: http://eures.europa.eu  Detailed information for foreign workers: www.mol.fi/finnworkwww.mol.fi/finnwork, www.infopankki.fiwww.infopankki.fi  Studying and practical training: www.studyinfinland.fi  General information: http://virtual.finland.fihttp://virtual.finland.fi Welcome to Finland! Further information: