72% large companies for easing foreign workers hiring: Survey

Large Finnish companies hoped that policymakers make it easier to recruit skilled foreign employees, according to OP's Corporate Pulse survey.

Hiring a foreign workforce is essential to a third of companies, said OP in a press release on Thursday referring to the survey.

Policymakers should more actively seek to ease the hiring of foreign workers, said 72% of large Finnish companies.

This is one of the results of OP's Corporate Pulse survey conducted in August 2024.

The survey looked into companies' attitudes towards hiring a foreign workforce and their views on the shortage of skilled labour.

"In our view, there are challenges associated with the hiring of foreign workers, especially in the areas of legislation and recruitment processes. Policymakers play a key role here, and companies expect that the legislation and systems supporting the availability of labour are adapted according to the changing needs of the labour market," said Katja Keitaanniemi, Chief Executive Officer of OP Corporate Bank.

There is significant variation among the respondents to the Corporate Pulse survey regarding whether the skills shortage is considered to have eased during the past year.

While 36% of the respondents said that the skills shortage has eased, a fourth of them disagreed with this statement and 40% had a neutral reaction to the statement.

"The skills shortage continues to be an obstacle to the operations of many companies, causing challenges in growth, investments and internationalisation. The need to hire skilled employees from outside Finland is weighed slightly differently depending on the industry. For example, the IT and technology industries, social services and healthcare are fields where skilled labour is badly needed," said Keitaanniemi.

A third of companies consider the hiring of a foreign workforce as essential for the company.

"The business operations of the largest Finnish companies are very international, emphasising the need for foreign expertise. With the changing demographics of the population, the need for work-based immigration becomes more and more pressing," said Keitaanniemi.

A total of 101 Finnish companies with a turnover of at least 100 million euros responded to the Corporate Pulse survey, which was commissioned by OP Financial Group and conducted by Taloustutkimus Oy. The survey was conducted by phone in August 2024.