At the September conference day of Construction Industry RT and Uusimaa's vocational schools on September 14.9.2023, XNUMX, there was a lively discussion about how we can ensure the attractiveness of the construction industry in the future as well. In the morning's panel, we discussed the current topic of how we can ensure the adaptation of immigrants to the construction industry.
"There has been a shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry for a long time, especially for special skills. The skill shortage experienced by companies in the construction industry is higher than in other sectors of the economy. Many professionals will retire in the next few years, and there are not enough skilled people to replace these people in Finland. Most of the companies using foreign labor have stated that it's not about the salary level," explained the regional director of Talonrakennusteollisuus Ry Diana Råman the topic of the panel discussion "How can we ensure that immigrants adapt to the construction industry?
"There are not enough domestic experts or they lack the necessary skills. That's why we also need international expertise. However, in the skills needs survey commissioned by RT in 2021, it was revealed that 55 percent of companies are not ready to hire people who do not speak Finnish or Swedish," said Råman.
In the panel discussion, Taitalo's trainer (pictured from the left) shared their perspectives Kirsi Juujärvi, CEO of Do Do Pyramid, who moved from Afghanistan about 8 years ago and works as a private entrepreneur Avel Shakor, Skanska's director of services Anu Aspiala and Const's foreman who moved from Estonia about 15 years ago Katrin Beqiri.
Helpful knowledge of the Finnish language is enough - language skills accumulate in working life
Knowledge of the Finnish language rose to the top of the discussion. All the panelists pointed out that helpful knowledge of the Finnish language is a prerequisite already for the reason that one understands, for example, occupational safety instructions. Among the cultural differences, Finland's exceptionally good occupational safety culture and the requirements related to occupational safety stand out in particular. However, the bar for knowing the Finnish language should not be raised too high in companies, and on the other hand, immigrants should also dare to use Finnish instead of English.
The panelists saw that it is the task of educational institutions to ensure that immigrants are taught professional vocabulary well and that they are given sufficient support to study the Finnish language.
Finding an internship for a student with a foreign background on their own was also perceived as difficult. It is important that companies offer internships to students with a foreign background and that the workplace supervisor is committed to orientation tasks. The workplace supervisor must have time for familiarization and must be able to give instructions in plain language. For example, different dialects and their different nuances are not necessarily easy to understand, especially when you are just learning the language. Avel and Katrin also shared their own learning experiences and said that you can learn colloquial language as long as you get to grips with working life and also dare to speak Finnish in different everyday situations.
The negotiation day was organized in cooperation with RT's industry units Building Construction and INFRA, Construction Industry Training Center RATEKO Taitopalo and Työhoseura TTS.
See also
Talonrakennusteollisuus ry Eastern Finland member news 15.9.2023 September XNUMX: Job training opportunities for young people must be secured even in challenging times
Skills needs assessment 2021, announcement 29.10.2021 October XNUMX: The skills shortage in construction can be solved by reforming education and international talent
More information
Building industry rt, Uusimaa, regional director Diana Råman, diana.raman[at]rt.fi or tel. 040 849 9463