Finland’s demographic challenges and opportunities

Demographic changes

Finland is a society that is facing drastic demographic changes due to the constantly growing number of the elderly and the extremely low fertility rate (Figure 1).

The pension and the healthcare systems have to deal with a large inflow of senior citizens and all this is spurred on by the gradual increase in the life expectancy.

Immigration and foreign labor, despite being relatively low compared to many other European wealthy nations, is among the strategies by which the Finnish government is trying to maintain its productive labor force (Figure 2). Recently, Finland’s ministry of Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment together with the Ministry of Education and Culture commissioned the economics research institution PTT to conduct a thorough analysis of the changes the Finnish economy and society will be facing in the decades to come [2].

The report emphasizes that there is no substitution to the growing need for foreign professionals coming to work in Finland. This will be mostly needed in the service sector, healthcare and manual work as well as highly technological and scientific fields. Many professions require at least some basic knowledge of

Finnish and that is why we encourage anyone who considers relocating to Finland to do so through obtaining an officially recognized degree. This allows the students to learn the language alongside the studies of their chosen profession and gives the students confidence and understanding of the Finnish labor market and its requirements and codes of practice.

Of course, this does not necessarily means that working in Finland requires one to learn Finnish, but it does open up many avenues for professional development and networking.

We also encourage anyone interested in sustainable and environmental development to consider Finland as one of the most attractive destinations due to the country’s long history in implementing sustainability solutions as well as the general EU approach for each member state to reach outcomes that allow us to decrease our pollution and carbon emission levels. Finland is constantly increasing its share of renewable energy in electricity and energy [3] production but environment-oriented solutions are also being developed in the manufacturing and service sectors.

For example, even the fashion industry is now looking for solutions that keep the environmental load to a minimum and Finnish businesses put much effort into continuing their research and investment to create a better and cleaner world for all of us [4].

Keep Focused and Track Progress

We, at Apprentis will take care of the formalities of the application process and provide our expertise to help you stay motivated, so that you can focus on the essentials – getting your education and building your career in a country that welcomes talented and hard-working people.

Sources:

[1] http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/vaerak/2019/vaerak_2019_2020-03-24_tie_001_en.html

[2] Olli-Pekka Ruuskanen, Heini Lehtosalo, Kimmo Mäkilä, Juuso Heinämäki, Juha Honkatukia, 2021 PTT

raportteja 269. Millaista osaamista Suomi tarvitsee vuonna 2040? https://www.ptt.fi/julkaisut-ja-

hankkeet/kaikki-julkaisut/millaista-osaamista-suomi-tarvitsee-vuonna-2040.html

[3] https://ourworldindata.org/electricity-mix

[4] https://www.reuters.com/article/innovation-textiles-finland-idUSL8N2KS121