FAST TRACK TO EMPLOYMENT - a model for accelerating the employment of immigrants

The FAST TRACK TO EMPLOYMENT project is part of the economic stimulus in Pirkanmaa that is necessary to counter the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis it caused. It advances the sense of belonging and participation of immigrants in the labor force by enhancing education and employment services aimed at immigrants whose labor market status is low. Secondly, the project strengthens the availability of workers in the social and health care sector, as the pandemic has worsened the field’s chronic labor shortage and put its workers under heavy strain. Thirdly, the project supports the integration of immigrants into Finnish society by identifying and recognizing their individual needs as well as the education and skills they have gained in their country of origin.
The project’s measures are divided into four groups based on the following subgoals: 1) To deepen existing knowledge of the social and health care-related interests, skills and career goals of immigrants with low labor market status and at least an upper secondary education or equivalent. 2) To prepare, utilizing pre-existing educational structures and offerings, a personal student guidance model and a study path that recognize the specific characteristics of the social and health care field, meant for immigrants with low labor market status and at least an upper secondary education or equivalent. 3) To produce a mentoring model and a mentoring guide for the use of immigrants, the city of Tampere’s employment and growth services and social and health care superiors, hiring managers and other members of the work community, in order to facilitate the starting, guidance and recruitment of immigrant internships and employment. 4) To create a model for the building and management of immigrants’ careers in the social and health care field based on the project’s measures, ideas, educational contents, experiences and feedback.
As a result of the project’s measures, 1) the twenty participating immigrants with low labor market status have deepened their interest, skills and career goals related to the social and health care operational environment and improved their language skills, 2) there will be a new personal student guidance model and a study path for immigrants with low labor market status that recognize the specific characteristics of the social and health care field and utilize pre-existing educational structures and offerings, 3) there will be a new mentoring model and a mentoring guide for the use of immigrants, social and health care employers and the employment and growth services of the city of Tampere that support the recruitment and guidance of immigrants’ internships and employment, 4) a model for the building and management of immigrants’ careers will have been created, based on the project’s measures, ideas, educational contents, experiences and feedback.
The project’s measures will also influence 1) immigrants seeing the social and health care field as an appealing career path, which will improve the field’s supply of labor, 2) immigrants’ skills and career knowledge as well as their integration into Finnish society increasing, 3) social and health care work communities’ attitudes towards immigrants improving, 4) strengthening our society’s readiness to develop new kinds of services, 5) improving immigrants’ employment and reaching a 75% employment rate in Pirkanmaa.