Yosra Yahya, a student at Karelia University of Applied Sciences, will soon graduate as an engineer from the Industrial Management degree programme. The young woman who moved from Saudi Arabia to Eastern Finland has achieved a lot in a couple of years – in addition to her studies, she has learned Finnish, volunteered and got a job that matches her education.
Yosra Yahya has an interesting background: she is a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian descent. Her parents’ work eventually took her to Saudi Arabia, where Yosra grew up and went to school until graduating from high school.
Moving to Finland is probably thanks to her big brother. He studied at a university in Jordan, where Karelia and Arbonaut Ltd came to hold a competition. The brother went and won the whole battle, as a result of which he got an internship in Joensuu. When Yosra was thinking about where to go to study after graduating from high school, her father encouraged her to apply to a Finnish university because he had heard a lot of good things about the education system here.
Yosra came to Finland in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic in 2021. There was drama in the beginning, as she fell ill with the flu, which required a hospital visit. The brother went along for support and protection. When Yosra at the hospital realised that her brother couldn’t stay there with her, panic crept into her mind. However, she felt reassured when she noticed how well the friendly nurses took care of her.
“At that moment, I decided that as a thank you for the good care I received, I would learn Finnish”, Yosra says.
She has indeed learned the language; you can see that when we conduct the interview in Finnish. Yosra’s speech flows and the words click into place with a naturalness you can’t help but admire. Her own motivation has played a big role. Yosra has participated in language studies organised by Karelia and has persistently spoken Finnish to both teachers and Finnish fellow students. She even joined the Finnish Red Cross as a volunteer so she could talk to Finns.
Own activity rewarded when looking for a job
Yosra works at Phillips-Medisize, which provides end-to-end product design and manufacturing services for healthcare and health technology. She found the job by participating in recruitment events organised by Karelia and by boldly talking to employers.
The tasks are related to mould maintenance and spare parts management in the SAP system. Alongside her work, she has continued her training in online courses organised by her employer related to cleanrooms, standards and SAP systems, for example.
Phillips-Medisize is one of Karelia’s partnership companies. The purpose of the activities is to improve international students’ connections to working life, to enable internships in North Karelia and to promote the internationalisation of employers in the region.
The company sees a shortage of labour lurking around the corner, which is why it wants to do its part in supporting the placement of international talents as part of Finnish society and life.
“I hope that our example will encourage other companies in our region to seize this opportunity because motivated young people like Yosra are the best source of vitality for Eastern Finland”, says Engineering Manager Janne Turunen.
“While Yosra has learned while working for us, we have also learned to appreciate many of the self-evident things in Finnish work communities that younger people from different cultures see here.”
Determinedly towards dreams
The people, language and culture in Finland are very different from Jordan or Saudi Arabia. Yosra has adapted to the new environment by participating in various activities and hobbies. In addition to volunteering, she plays volleyball with Joen Juju club, skates, and knits. You can also add public speaking to the list – Yosra goes to tell her story at various events.
Yosra enjoys living in Joensuu. One of the reasons she mentions – perhaps somewhat surprisingly – is the climate because she likes the cold. In addition, she appreciates the honesty and frankness of the Finns, as well as the fact that the hierarchies are low.
“In Finland, people work with heart, and the quality of work is high. What is considered good here would be interpreted as almost perfect elsewhere”, she describes.
The northern country feels so much like her own that Yosra wants to stay. The goal is to acquire Finnish citizenship one day. She also dreams of a house or summer cottage by the lake – a dream that many Finns can easily relate to.
“Finland is a good country where it is easy to develop yourself and get ahead in life.”
When it comes to the employment of immigrants, Yosra has one wish for Finnish employers. She hopes that employers will see people’s true potential, even if they have not yet mastered the Finnish language.
“Even if a person does not yet speak Finnish, they may still have skills that are useful for the employer. When the skills related to the work tasks are in place, language skills will also be acquired through practice.”
Support for recruiting international talent
The challenges related to recruiting international talent have been identified from the perspective of both students and employers. The educational institutions of Eastern Finland UEF, Savonia, Sakky, Karelia, Riveria and YSAO have joined forces to solve the problem.
The Talent Hub Eastern Finland cooperation aims to ensure that international students arriving in the region find their place, secure employment, and integrate into Eastern Finland. Students are helped concretely to familiarise themselves with Finnish working life, build networks, learn Finnish and find internships, jobs and business opportunities.
Employers are supported in identifying the potential of international students and finding a skilled workforce. There will be concrete tools for recruiting, onboarding and learning the language at the workplace, as well as for adapting to the Finnish work culture. The aim is to lower the threshold for hiring international talent and make it a natural part of organisations’ everyday operations.
Talent Hub Eastern Finland is a project co-funded by the European Union.
Text:
Tiina Weman, Communications Specialist, Talent Hub Eastern Finland, University of Eastern Finland