VeKO Project ends on 31.3.2023
All good things come to an end eventually, and so does the Attractiveness Through International Experts project.
The project period 4/2020-3/2023 has been marked by uncertainty about the future, but these three years have proven that good cooperation carries over even difficult times. We would like to thank the companies, stakeholders and individual clients for joining the project and enabling a joint development in the North Savo region.
With your support, VeKO developed solutions supporting international recruitment, integration and settlement services, receptivity within work communities, identification and guidance of skills and regional cooperation.
The skills of international experts already living in the area were highlighted with the help of the SkillLab software and the experts were supported in their job search, e.g. by organizing opportunities to meet employers in the area, both online and on site. The Meet&Match concept, targeted at specific fields, was warmly welcomed and very effective. Spouses living in the home countries of the employees recruited to the region were also guided in their job search and helped in the process of recognizing foreign degrees and as well as in building their own network.
Based on the experiences gathered in international recruitments, we built, amongst other things, clear road maps that help guide people moving to the area for work with the official affairs and settling down. We developed the open community platform Talent Spring, which functions also as a data bank for recruitment, settlement and integration in North Savo and as an interactive communication tool between international experts, companies and cities.
During the project, Spring House also became a member of EURES, the European cooperation network for employment services. Cooperation between public and private members was developed with EURES officials from North Savo TE services, in order to promote international recruitment and offer a wide range of services. Our fruitful cooperation and project activities were presented in several networks and events in Finland, Spain, Czech Republic and Croatia.
During the project, we piloted the Join Finland training for working immigrants to provide information about Finnish society, working life and everyday life. The training also includes the basics of the Finnish language.
Everyone involved in international recruitment can continue to use Talent Spring and the products developed by VeKO. More information, starting 1.4, from director Kristel Kivisik, kristel.kivisik@springhouse.fi.
Let’s continue to co-operate in favor of international North Savo!
Tanja Manner, Mirka Niskala, Iuliia Obukhova, Marco Rigano
From left to right: Kristel Kivisik, Jan Blomberg (Pohjois-Savon ELY-keskus), Tanja Manner, Katri Nikkinen (Charles River Laboratories), Mirka Niskala, Iuliia Obukhova, Minna Lindholm-Lähde ja Marco Rigano
