TEK receives AYY honorable mention for improving employment opportunities for foreign students

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Writers: Aku Karjalainen
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Photographers: Tiina Henry-Biabaud
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The Aalto University Student Union AYY has awarded TEK with an honorable mention for improving the employment skills of students with a foreign background.

According to AYY, TEK has distinguished itself in helping foreign students and recent graduates to find work in Finland. AYY states that the positive tone employed by TEK in its communications concerning the matter has been crucial for changing attitudes in the working life.

– We are very grateful to know that our work has been acknowledged, says Jari Jokinen, Director of Education and Employment Policy at TEK.

According to Jokinen, improving the employment opportunities of students with a foreign background has been one of TEK’s focus areas.

According to surveys conducted by TEK, of all non-Finns, only one in four are employed at the time of their graduation, while nearly two thirds of all Finnish graduates have a job. The problems seem to stem from lack of work experience and contacts, and these are the issues TEK has been working on.

– Companies, and the society as a whole, can no longer afford to ignore the unique skills and talents offered by freshly graduated foreigners. Their cultural competencies and previously formed networks could prove to be crucial assets when a company is expanding into new markets, Jokinen explains.


Various perspectives on the same question

In the past year, TEK has brought the issue up both in the media and among education developers and business representatives.

In addition, TEK has paid more attention to the integration of foreign students on university campuses.

– For example, last autumn, TEK participated in the organisation of the My career in Finland event at Aalto University, allowing us to share information on working and applying for jobs in Finland. In the future, we want TEK to collaborate with universities and student unions to organise a lecture or an event about the Finnish work culture, targeted at all foreign students, says Essi Puustinen, Student Affairs Adviser at TEK.

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