Background information

Talent Boost was launched by the Sipilä government in 2017. The programme has by now attracted numerous specialists from outside Finland into the country. When the programme was launched, it focused on attracting international specialists.

Barriers connected to attracting international talent are often complex and cannot be solved by one actor alone. Talent Boost programme brings together different sectors and actors and coordinates cooperation between them in order to make the bureaucratic procedures as efficient as possible and also create ways to recruit highly-skilled employees and facilitate their arrival and settlement in Finland. The programme design takes into consideration suggestions of two working groups that were established by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labour in 2018 and 2019. These groups were established to identify key problem areas that hinder highly-skilled workforce from moving to Finland.

Content of measure

Talent Boost is a cross-administrative programme designed to promote recruitment of foreign senior specialists, employees, students and researchers. It focuses on attracting international talent who will be instrumental for the growth and internationalisation of Finnish companies, and for their research and development units in leading growth sectors. While the programme targets sectors suffering from a labour shortage, it is open for actors from all sectors. The programme aims to make Finland an attractive country to foreign specialists, students and researchers and their families. In addition, it seeks to encourage Finnish employers to recruit international talent.

Programme measures include:

• Shortening the processing period for work-based residence permit applications to 1 month;
• Determined action to attract and retain international talent, and help their families settle in Finland;
• Creating a model for international recruitment;
• Benefiting from international talent in supporting the growth and internationalisation of companies and R&D activities, and in attracting investment;
• Increasing receptiveness and diversity in the workplace.
• Extending researcher's residense permits.

At regional level the programme is implemented through Talent Hubs. Since the beginning of 2020, municipalities have been able to apply for Talent Hub financing. Talent Hubs seek to strengthen local networks of relevant stakeholders in order to attract international talent. Talent Hubs is a local service model that seeks to make cooperation between the local actors (e.g. municipality and public employment and business services) more agile in order facilitating recruitment and integration of international talent.

Use of measure

According to a publication by the Ministry of Education and Culture, in 2017, 7% of degree students at universities and universities of applied sciences were foreign students completing their entire degree in Finland. Internationally, the average share of foreign degree students in OECD countries was 6% in 2016. Thus, Finland has slightly more international students than the OECD countries on average. However, the proportion of international students has increased in recent years. From 2000 to 2019, the number of international students has increased by 231%.

According to new numbers by OECD from 2023, Finland ranked 14th in terms of attractiveness of foreign experts. Finland is the 16th most attractive OECD country for international higher education students. Between 2018 and 2022, the number of applications for residence permits for work and education and the number of positive decisions on the basis of these applications for several types of permits, have increased. The total number of approved applications for work based residence permits was slightly above 53,000 during these five years. Permits for experts stand for 15% and seasonal workers for 10 % of the total (Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, 2023).

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Applies to all workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Public employment service	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Unknown	Unknown
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Unknown

Involvement

Unknown

Views and reactions

Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) argues that a programme like Talent Boost is a important step towards a more effective and coordinated system of international recruitment in Finland.

Confederation of Unions for Professional and Managerial Staff (Akava) and Confederation of Professionals (STTK) argues that the number of international students in Finland should be multiplied, and that Talent Boost programme should support education institutions in attracting international students. In addition, they want education institutions to be strongly involved in the development of the Talent Boost programme.

Sources

• 27 April 2017: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (2020) Talent Boost (tem.fi)
• 17 October 2017: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labour (2019b) The Government's proposal (HE 29/2019 vp Hallituksen esitys eduskunnalle valtion talousarvioksi vuodelle 2020) (www.eduskunta.fi)
• 28 September 2019: Condederation of Finnish Industries (2019) Suunta tulevaisuuden osaamiselle ja innovaatiotoiminnalle (ek.fi)
• 12 November 2019: AKAVA (2019) The number of international students must be multiplied (Kansainvälisten opiskelijoiden määrä on moninkertaistettava) (akava.fi)
• 29 November 2019: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labour (2019a) Talent Boost - toimenpideohjelma (minedu.fi)
• 21 November 2023: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (2023) 'Talent Boost 2023–2027 : Työ- ja koulutusperusteisen maahanmuuton toimenpideohjelma' (julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi)
• 21 November 2023: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment (2023) 'Ministerial working group approves revised Talent Boost programme on work-based and education-based immigration for 2023–2027' (tem.fi)