Towards the opportunities of internationalisation

Writer: Samuli Miettinen, Economic Development Centre of Eastern Finland

Success in international recruitment is a competition we cannot afford to lose

We all carry with us conversations from different stages of life and career that continue to resonate long afterwards. One such meaningful exchange for me took place at Europe’s largest recruitment and emigration event, Emigration Expo in Utrecht in 2023, while working as a EURES specialist. At the end of the fair, on a Sunday afternoon, I went around interviewing recruitment professionals who had arrived from across the world. My final stop of the day was at the stand of a small village in northern Sweden. After two days of constant discussion, I opened with a familiar question: which sectors are you recruiting for? My Swedish colleague replied with equal certainty and without hesitation: all of them – we do not have a single field where there would not be room for one more top expert. What began as a tired conversation starter developed into an excellent, mutually beneficial exchange on how relocation services should be packaged as a vital part of attractiveness, and how visibility requires continuous regional effort.

From necessity to opportunity

Demographic challenges, including population ageing and declining birth rates, will increasingly affect Northern and Eastern Finland in the 2030s. At the same time, future challenges may still feel distant. At the end of February 2026, there were 1,127 more unemployed jobseekers in North Savo than a year earlier (KEHA Centre, Labour Market Situation 2/2026). Perhaps an even more concerning indicator is the development in the number of new job vacancies. In February 2026, 546 fewer vacancies were reported, representing a decrease of –26.4% compared to February of the previous year (2/2026).

However, international recruitment should not be approached from a standpoint of necessity or negation, but rather as an opportunity, as my former colleague aptly summarised at the Dutch fair. Instead of asking whether we need international talent now or in the future, it is more essential to understand how global expertise can generate growth, enhance competitiveness, and support the internationalisation of our companies. Growth creates jobs.

The pressures of the future may serve as an additional motivator, but I believe we all aspire to a vibrant North Savo, not merely one that survives. According to a study by the Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (Etla), hiring the first international employee immediately promotes the growth of a company’s total exports and increases the likelihood of exporting to the employee’s country of origin (Etla 2025). The Bank of Finland, in turn, states that economic growth requires increased investment in education, technology, and the attraction of foreign labour and expertise (Bank of Finland 2024).

We need to do more

Systematic talent attraction and national country branding efforts began relatively late in Finland. In practice, this took place in 2020 with the Talent Boost programme and the Work in Finland function maintained under it by Business Finland and the KEHA Centre. For comparison, Denmark launched its Work in Denmark initiative already in 2008. Despite the later start, a great deal of excellent work has been carried out in Finland (also prior to Work in Finland), including in North Savo. In particular, cooperation between projects and different organisations has, in my view, been exemplary. At the same time, it is important to recognise that many regions around the world have been engaged in similar efforts for longer and in a more systematic manner.

Regional attractiveness work is not merely marketing or promotion; it is strategic positioning and a shared vision of how we differentiate ourselves in the global landscape, how we package our strengths, and how we secure the competence of our companies.

We continuously encounter and create arguments for why work- and skills-based immigration should not be promoted at this moment. Ongoing global crises do influence talent needs, yet at the same time the world is rapidly preparing for the labour markets of the future. For example, Japan—traditionally perceived as highly closed—has in recent years almost completely reversed its strategy, and even individual regions and municipalities are now actively planning various soft landing solutions and marketing measures. At the same time as we are experiencing exceptionally high unemployment, the EU and the Government of India established the European Legal Gateway Office in February 2026. Its objective is to strengthen the competitiveness of EU countries in the global competition for talent and to support also more remote EU regions, ensuring that talent flows do not concentrate solely in metropolitan areas.

We are home to a top-tier product called North Savo. Let us ensure together that our success does not fall short due to a lack of marketing or visibility.

Samuli Miettinen is a Business Specialist at the Economic Development Centre of Eastern Finland and a Work in Finland contact person. He has worked with international recruitment and development since 2020.

This expert article will be followed by a second part later this spring, featuring perspectives from experts in Sweden and Denmark.

Listen also to Samuli Miettinen’s Talent Talks interview.

Sources

KEHA Centre (2026): Labour Market Situation 2/2026, North Savo. Regional employment review of the Centre for Economic Development.

Research Institute of the Finnish Economy ETLA (2025): Hiring the First Non-Native Worker and Exports, ETLA Working Papers No. 126

Bank of Finland (2024): Long-term economic analyses and conditions for growth