Loimu influences the employment opportunities of international professionals in Finland
In the Language proficiency expectations at work report, Sitra examined the employment opportunities of international professionals from the perspective of language proficiency requirements. The final conclusion was that the requirements should be assessed on a task-by-task basis, and a developing Finnish or Swedish proficiency should not be seen as an obstacle to expert tasks. Loimu participated in preparing the report, as Loimu has a significant number of international members.
Sitra’s report examined the language proficiency expectations in Finnish working life in spring 2026 through analyses, workshops and interviews with experts. The review focused on eight clusters that bundled similar industries together, which included industries typical for Loimu’s members, such as the pharmaceutical industry, the software industry, the energy industry, consulting, urban planning, trade and export, and health care.
Differences in language proficiency requirements between industries and individual workplaces
According to the report, so-called developing language proficiency is sufficient for international professionals, especially in tasks where the core content of the work is expert- or technology-oriented, the customer interface is limited and the working language of the team is primarily English. Tasks where safety or quality issues that are critical to the work can be ensured with orientation, visual instructions, mentoring and work in pairs are also possible even without fluent language proficiency.
Better starting points for tapping into the expertise of international experts were identified in some of the industry clusters examined than in others. Ready career opportunities without perfect language proficiency are offered, for example, by industries related to the green transition, health technology, the life science interface, the B2B customer interface and service export. In regulated public and welfare sectors as well as in the built environment, language proficiency expectations are more strongly defined by legislation, safety and security, documentation and the services of the public authorities. In these fields, the career path of international professionals would require clearly more support from the work community and the formation of structures as well as the identification of the most suitable work tasks. It is therefore essential that employers identify tasks that could be performed even without Finnish language proficiency.
Loimu influences the career opportunities of international professionals
At Loimu, we actively contribute to ensuring that international professionals have better opportunities to build their careers in Finland. Our goal is a working life where competence, training and expertise are at the heart of recruitment and where language proficiency requirements correspond to the actual needs of the work. This benefits both international and Finnish natural scientists and strengthens the competitiveness of research, innovation and business in Finland.
Read Sitra’s memorandum: Language proficiency expectations at work – Solutions for assessing and developing language awareness in organisations. A total of 16 experts were interviewed for the report, including Loimu’s Careers Service Director Suvi Liikkanen.
Further information
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Suvi Liikkanen
Careers service director