PIKEUS project: for many SMEs, the availability of international labor is a matter of fate 

In the research results of the PIKEUS project aimed at SMEs, it emerged that for some of the companies the recruitment of skilled workers was the only way to find labor and for some it was a way to increase competitiveness. However, the common factor for all companies was the positive effects on the working atmosphere and business. RT was involved in the project's consortium.

"In the construction industry, the availability of foreign labor is a critical resource. Especially as the working-age population shrinks, the role of international experts will grow even more," says RT's education policy expert Saku Lehtinen. In addition to RT, the real estate and construction sector was represented in the project by Kiinteistötyontanjat, the Association of Architects ATL and Construction Masters and Engineers AMK RKL.

SMEs and foreign labor in Finland The goal of the PIKEUS project has been to support the international recruitment of SMEs by studying the companies' experiences and sharing their good practices nationwide. The project also produced recommendations for the development of international recruitment services for companies and educational institution cooperation. 

About 40 SME entrepreneurs in different industries or people working in the management of companies from different parts of Finland were interviewed for the study. Foreign employees worked in all companies. The interviews asked about experiences of hiring foreign labor and collected the best solutions for recruitment, orientation and managing a diverse work community. 

In the project, the difference in the industry-specific needs of SMEs came to the fore: for some, the recruitment of international talent even appears to be the only way to get a workforce. For other companies, international recruitment is a means of increasing the company's competitiveness.  

Different companies are united by the experience of the positive effects of the internationalization of the working community on business and the atmosphere of the working community. However, the workload resulting from recruitments and the bureaucracy associated with them burdens entrepreneurs. The experiences of recruiting foreign employees are encouraging in many industries. 

The SME representatives interviewed for the study recognize that their companies have often benefited in different ways from hiring foreign labor. Some of the benefits are related to the core issues of business operations, such as the possibility of getting a workforce and expanding the company's operations. 

Especially in sparsely populated areas, the company's decision to hire foreign labor has sometimes made it possible for the company to continue operating. At the same time, the jobs of the Finns already working in the company were saved and the business activity, which is valuable to the vitality of the region, continued.  

The project consortium included Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Kuopio, Lahti, Business Finland's Work in Finland, the real estate and construction sector's KIRA consortium, and E2 Tutkimus, which carried out the study. 

More information about the study 

Contact us

E2 Research
Mari K. Niemi, mari.k.niemi(at)e2.fi, p. +44 77 371 61944 (also WhatsApp)
Matti Välimäki, matti.valimaki(at)e2.fi, p. 050 543 0191 

Saku Lehtinen, education policy expert, Construction Industry RT, tel. 040 041 2057 or first name. surname(s) rt.fi

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