The City of Riihimäki invests in cooperation between employers and foreign students

The City of Riihimäki is strengthening cooperation between foreign students and employers in the region by opening a new position of working life and business expert. The aim of the working life and business expert is to support foreign students in settling in the Riihimäki region and to lower the threshold for employers to offer work-based learning and internships. Eea Vatanen, who already has previous experience in employment services and practical guidance work, has started in the position.

– Currently, many employers are hesitant to hire international students because they are concerned about everyday practices and responsibilities. When things can be tried and developed with support, the threshold for taking on a student for an internship is significantly lowered, says new working life and business expert Eea Vatanen from the City of Riihimäki.

The employment and business specialist acts as a contact person for educational institutions, employers and foreign students and aims to bring students and employers together. The focus of the work is on work-study and internship periods for foreign students. The goal is to ensure that they run smoothly from both the student and the employer's perspective.

One of the strategic goals of the City of Riihimäki is to strengthen the vitality of the region and the availability of a skilled workforce, and this goal is supported by the work of the working life and business expert. The task is carried out in cooperation with Häme University of Applied Sciences, Hyria Education, the Finnish Environmental Institute Sykli, and employers in the region.

A working life and business expert helps employers, foreign students and their spouses

The work life and business specialist's task also includes supporting work communities in issues of multilingual everyday life. He or she offers employers practical support, for example, in orientation, guidance and clarifying everyday communication, so that language does not become an obstacle to learning, safety or smooth work. In his or her work, the work life and business specialist builds operating models that work communities can also utilize in the future.

– Companies are often surprised by how small things can make a good start. When you get support for orientation and everyday practices, experimenting doesn't feel like a risk, says working life and business expert Vatanen.

The working life and business expert also promotes the settlement and employment of spouses of foreign students in the Riihimäki region as part of broader development work.