How to Overcome Finland’s Talent Shortage

In recent years, Finland has often been hailed as a Nordic success story, with its robust education system, advanced technology sector, and high quality of life. So, it’s no surprise that Finland has been named as the most technologically advanced nation in the world. Despite having some of the greatest tech talent in Europe, there is a growing concern over the country’s worsening recruitment conditions.  

As the labour market in Finland grapples with a series of challenges, it’s imperative to highlight the ongoing recruitment dilemma and explore potential solutions.

What is exacerbating the technical skills shortage in Finland? 

Demographic dilemma: aging population 

Finland, like many Western countries, faces the challenge of an aging population. The birth rate has been declining steadily, leading to an increasingly older workforce. As a result, there are concerns about a shortage of skilled workers to replace retiring employees, inevitably widening the technical skills gap in Finland whilst also leading to a lack of diversity in the labour market.

Skill mismatch: the education and job requirements paradox 

Despite the highly regarded Finnish education system, the rapid growth of the technology sector in Finland has created an emerging issue of skill mismatch in the job market. Like in many developed nations, recent graduates find themselves overqualified for the jobs they secure, whilst employers struggle to find candidates with the specific skills they need. This mismatch results in increased staff turnover, a lack of job satisfaction and reduced productivity.

Looking for skilled technical workers, or the right opportunity for you? Get in touch with our team of professional technology recruitment consultants to find the perfect match in Finland.

Bureaucratic hurdles: immigration and work visas 

The recruitment conditions in Finland are further hindered by bureaucratic hurdles, particularly in the context of immigration and work visas. Companies are relying on attracting foreign talent to keep up with the demand of the industry, but employers seeking to hire talent from abroad often face complex and time-consuming processes, discouraging potential international candidates from considering Finland as a viable option. This contributes to a limited pool of tech talent and limits the diversity of skills available to Finnish companies.

Regional disparities: Helsinki dominance 

Another issue that exacerbates recruitment conditions is the concentration of job opportunities in the capital region, Helsinki. Whilst Helsinki is undoubtedly a hub of economic activity, this leads to disparities in job availability across the country. Smaller towns and rural areas often face a lack of job opportunities, causing a significant skills imbalance in these regions.

How to overcome the technical skills shortage in Finland 

Offer remote and hybrid work 

Our most recent poll found that 79% of 483 participants said that remote and hybrid work is important to them. During a skills shortage, navigating the dynamics of the technology labour market is key to bridging the gap. Not only does flexible working improve candidate attraction rates, but it also significantly widens the talent pool, enabling employers to hire candidates from more rural regions and encourages diversiform applicants.

Invest in upskilling and transferable skills 

In a candidate short market, upskilling is a vital solution to alleviating the skills gap. Identify where skills are missing in the business and invest time and resources into training courses and learning and development programmes. With the advancement of generative AI and low and no code apps, evaluating if a candidate has the right transferable skills for the vacancy will drastically improve fill rates. Consider if the person has good leadership skills for hands off positions, if they would be good for problem-solving or creative roles, or a full stack developer has good experience with a particular language that could be applied to a front-end redesign project using that programming language.

Utilise your resources 

Working with our team of experienced technology recruitment consultants will expand your search in current market conditions. We can find candidates who do not appear to be publicly seeking new opportunities and maximise reach by promoting your role on several different job boards, social media, and our website. We can provide advice on how best to word job specifications to embody your brand and culture to prospects, support you with the interview and offer process, as well as providing salary and market insights. Our recruitment services are completely free unless you decide to proceed with hiring.

Contact our team to find out more.

The technology labour market in Finland is continually changing at a fast pace, so the worsening recruitment conditions may only be a temporary challenge for the industry to overcome. By addressing the current issues with a proactive and strategic approach, employers can continue to thrive and meet customer demands within one of Europe’s major economic powerhouses. It is crucial for employers to adapt to the dynamic landscape of the technology labour market and stretch their resources to a feasible extent to ensure a bright future for Finnish technology employment prospects.

If you are looking for support in growing your technical team, book your free consultation with one of our tech recruitment consultants on +358 9 4245 2477, or send us an email and we will be in touch.