47% Int´l students mull leaving Finland after graduation

Nearly half of the international graduate students plan to leave Finland after completing their studies, although they acclimatized well to life in the country, a study released by the think tank E2 said on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.

According to E2, 86 percent of international degree students have settled in Finland very or somewhat well, and rather fast. Eighty-seven percent of them said they are satisfied with their studies.

However, 47 percent of them are planning to leave Finland after graduation, and a third of the respondents said that they consider their chances of progressing in careers in Finland poor.

Many need support in learning the language, job search training and networking opportunities with Finnish companies.

E2 said that despite their diverse backgrounds, international experts living in Finland appear to share the same problems.

The research also covered Finnish expatriates, who have returned to Finland, international professional job seekers in Finland, and foreigners who have moved to Finland due to a Finnish partner. A total of 2,500 people were interviewed.

E2 Director Mari K. Niemi said in a press release that experts are keen to move to Finland and work there but not "at any price." "Finland as a society could benefit a lot if we would be bold in reassessing language skill requirements at work and also open social networks to new arrivals," Niemi said.

The E2 research concludes that social networks are essential in the repatriation and employment of international experts. However, many have difficulty finding Finnish friends. Almost half of those working or looking for work think that the problem of making friends has made settling in the country a challenging task.