The City of Riihimäki offers support for work try-out for foreign-language speakers

The City of Riihimäki is starting to offer language support for work try-outs for foreign-speaking people. In a language-supported work try-out, the work trialist's Finnish language skills and interaction are developed so that he or she can function effectively in the workplace. Support measures can include, for example, the presence of a Finnish language teacher at the workplace, the preparation of a language agreement to determine the client's own language goals, and concrete guidance and advice in interaction situations.

– This is a normal work try-out, to which we now offer language support as an addition. With this service, we aim to accelerate the employment of people who speak languages ​​other than Finnish in Riihimäki, explains Juha Hiltunen, Integration Manager of the City of Riihimäki.

The City of Riihimäki tailors the work try-out together with the employer, the work try-out participant and the Finnish language teacher. The city has not planned a very precise structure for the service, but listens to the needs of all parties and is flexible according to the employer's wishes.

The city is currently piloting a language-supported work try-out with Alko.

Utilizing a foreign-speaking workforce strengthens the city's business life

The purpose of the language-supported work try-out is also to offer companies the opportunity to gain experience in a multicultural workplace. This is important because, according to forecasts, the proportion of foreign speakers in the workforce will increase in the future. One of the strategic goals of the city of Riihimäki is to identify future working life needs, which creates the foundation for a strong business community in the city.

Hiring a foreign-speaking employee offers a company many other benefits: Many immigrants speak several languages, so with their help the company can better serve foreign-speaking customers and expand its customer base. With the help of foreign-speaking employees, the company can improve its international interaction and understanding of other cultures, which can be a significant competitive advantage. With foreign-speaking employees, the company's work community also becomes more diverse and can utilize more different perspectives in its work and enhance innovation.

Integration Manager Juha Hiltunen believes that local companies will recognize the benefits of hiring foreign-language employees and will be interested in language-supported work try-out:

– We have surveyed the situation and found that there is a lot of demand for language-supported work try-out in Riihimäki. All employers from different fields are welcome to join the trial, says Integration Manager Hiltunen.

If an employer is interested in taking on a foreign-speaking person for a language-supported work try-out, they can contact Jonne Nieminen, employment advisor for foreign speakers. His email address is jonne.nieminen@riihimaki.fi and his phone number is 040 716 7703.