Helsinki Times

ISSUE 38 (70) • 3 – 9 OCTOBER 2008 • €3 • WWW.HELSINKITIMES.FI DOMESTIC

BUSINESS

TRAVEL

SPORT

Nimby: localism or elitism?

Finnish green technology upstarts

Rovaniemi: Magic of the north

Honka ready to challenge Inter

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page 10

pages 12-14

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Domestic economy needs foreign workforce DAV I D J . C O R D HEL SINKI TIMES

has a top-heavy population. Over the next five years about 375,000 Finns will reach retirement age but only 325,000 youngsters will reach working age. The only way Finnish companies can replace these 50,000 pensioners is by hiring foreigners. It is not a new problem. Several years ago elder statesman Max Jakobson called on the government to proactively recruit people to move to Finland. Even now with the economy slowing, the scarcity of labour is seen as a bottleneck to growth. Luckily many of these retiring Finns are being replaced by immigrants. Statistics Finland announced that Finland had 13,600 net immigrants last year and hopes for at least 10,000 more each year in the future. With 10,000 net retirements a year and 10,000 net immigrants, a casual glance would think that the problem is solved. Unfortunately not all immigrants enter the work force. A portion of them stay at home to raise families or study instead of working. Although the current level of immigration helps with the labour problem, Finland actually needs even more foreign workers. Last month the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK said they expected the unemployment rate to fall to 5.9 per cent next year as companies struggle to find employees. The Bank of Finland has similar worries: last month it announced that the employment rate would climb to 70.8 per cent in 2010 from 68.9 per cent in 2006. Foreign workers are therefore playing an important role. The demand for migrants to replace retiring Finns is high now and is only expected to increase. Over time growing Finnish companies do not only need to replace retirees; they also need more labour for their expansion. Immigrants are also bringing other advantages to companies. The largest Finnish companies have the vast majority of their sales originate from abroad, and a foreign workforce helps cultivate the modern and cosmopolitan reputation of these international firms.

FINLAND

Using the newspaper in adult language training LEARN modernly, the Learnwell way, by using the Helsinki Times newspaper in all of your English classes. As the first English language newspaper established itself in Finland, Learnwell also saw the possibility of changing the teaching methods of business English to companies. English lessons in companies have been modernised to include a personal weekly copy of the newspaper for each student. This bonus

material is part of Learnwell Oy’s teaching material in addition to the regular material used in adult language training courses. The newspaper gives an array of discussion topics, vocabulary to go through, questions to ask and even grammar exercises based on the articles. There is no need to work with outdated books as the newspaper itself already provides an example of a modern language, with dynamic, informative and up to date information.

Mentioning this voucher entitles 10% off all Learnwell courses in English. Offer valid until Halloween, 31.10.2008 For more information on language training and translations contact us at [email protected] or visit www.thelanguagemenu.com

This gives a content of current events and business related topics to the course. The teacher adjusts the discussion topics towards students’ own interests, and throughout the course the participants have the advantage of a direct link to what is happening in the student’s own area of expertise. Learnwell offers the newspaper with every English course, both for private tuition as well as for groups. Well over 100 students are already bringing their newspapers to

their language classes, improving their vocabulary and enjoying their classes with the essence of the news present in the classroom. And if you want to recycle the material, make a hat or a boat out of the pages you already covered in class! Learnwell Oy, a Helsinki-based company, approaches teaching from a dynamic standpoint and strives to make the learning experience fun, unique and fully adaptable to the needs of each student. A free assessment test and a free trial lesson is available, and classes range from improving language and communications skills to specialised courses tailor-made for different professions (logistics, HR, meetings, presentations, financial/legal English etc.). Visit www.thelanguagemenu.com to book your trial lesson. You can walk away with a smile and a little extra knowledge without spending a cent!