New Report: The attraction and retention of talent in North Savo’s is built through collaboration

As part of the Talent First project, workshops were organized for four strategic sectors of North Savo – tourism, health and wellbeing technology, ICT, and technology industry. In these workshops, experts from educational institutions, municipalities, and companies came together to explore ways to attract and retain talent in the region through co-development.

The newly published report compiles the results of these workshops, analyzes them from the perspective of regional development and talent attraction, and presents conclusions and recommendations for regional policy and decision-making.

Structural transformation challenges regions to solve talent shortages

North Savo is undergoing a significant structural transformation. Demographic change, shifts in working life, and migration flows are putting increasing pressure on regional vitality. The shortage of skilled workers has become a broad regional development challenge – it now defines the region’s ability to grow and attract new investments.

“The future of our strategic sectors depends on skilled professionals. However, both businesses and public actors feel that talent attraction and retention efforts remain fragmented. The workshops focused on finding concrete solutions to this,” says Jukka Kähkönen from Kirnu Kreative, who facilitated the sessions.

One of the main insights was the need for more coordinated and impactful regional collaboration. Participants also pointed out that North-Savo is not yet sufficiently visible or differentiated in national or international talent markets. Communication about the region should be more strategic, consistent, and unified.

While the potential of international talent was seen as critical, barriers such as language requirements, weak relocation services, and challenges in cultural integration were seen as major obstacles to long-term retention.

The report outlines the following key recommendations:

• Strategic talent attraction efforts require structures: A shared direction, common vision, and compelling narrative are needed to guide the development of regional strategies and concrete goals.

• Talent pathways must be made concrete, with clearly defined roles and responsibilities for ensuring their development.

• To foster a culture of experimentation, the region needs small-scale – even bold – pilots. These initiatives require support, funding, and visibility.

“The workshops highlighted a strong will for collaboration across the region. That provides a solid foundation for developing long-term talent attraction and retention strategies,” Kähkönen concludes.

Read the full report (pdf)

About the Talent First Project

The report is part of the Talent First project, which aims to improve the availability of skilled labor in Pohjois-Savo. It was compiled by Kirnu Kreative and completed in May 2025. The workshops were held in Kuopio and Iisalmi between 2024 and early 2025. Talent First is an EU co-funded project involving 12 organizations from Pohjois-Savo and coordinated by the City of Kuopio.