NordenBladet — ELY Centres will launch a regional experiment on labour market tests that will introduce common guidelines on work permits in selected areas. This is expected to increase labour mobility between regions and ease permit processes related to foreign workforce. The pilot does not mean that labour market tests will be discontinued. Labour market test means that, upon receiving an application for a Finnish residence permit by a foreign worker, the TE Office determines whether a worker already in Finland could fill the vacancy. The purpose of the test is to support the employment opportunities of labour already available on the market, but not to prevent the recruitment of labour from abroad.The ELY regions of South Ostrobothnia, Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia and Kainuu have been selected as pilot areas for the experiment, which will begin in autumn. In this clearly defined geographical area, business subcontracting chains cross the boundaries of the ELY regions and employers need flexibility in placing their employees. A shortage of skilled workforce has started to impede growth in the region and the need for workforce and international experts is expected to grow even more in the next few years. Pilot to improve availability of workforce in sectors with labour shortageA more flexible labour market test will support immigration of skilled labour, because the ELY Centres can together determine the need for labour by occupation in the pilot area, taking into account the economic outlook. If metal industry, for example, were defined as a sector suffering from labour shortage, the labour market test would be equally moderate throughout the area during the pilot. In addition to more flexible labour market tests, the pilot involves communication campaigns on attracting skilled workforce and on preventing the exploitation of labour.The experiment will begin in September–October 2021 and last until the end of February 2023. In that way, an impact analysis of the pilot can be completed by the end of the government term.
NordenBladet — The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued its recommendations on Wednesday 1 September. Work based the recommendations will continue in four pilot projects. The project outcomes will be of international value.For example, the OECD recommendations include linking forecasting to the preparation of policy measures, strategy processes and innovation work. More appropriate application of various means of guidance is also recommended to achieve the desired effects. The aim is to make the necessary decisions and implement the reforms that are essential for society more swiftly and effectively in a world of complex problems.Pilot projects develop proactive government guidanceThe pilot projects include lifelong learning, children, young adults and families, the transition to a carbon-neutral society, and dialogue between politicians and public servants.The lifelong learning reform seeks to improve the employment rate and the availability of a skilled workforce, and to increase equality of participation.“This is not possible through the actions of any individual branch of government; systemic change is needed. Government guidance must be strongly forward-looking and innovative,” explains Anita Lehikoinen, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Culture.The review of budgets is seeking to stress the perspective of the rights of the child.“It is essential for central government, future wellbeing sectors and municipalities to assess the impact of budget decisions on children. Child-oriented budgeting paves the way for a humane approach, evidence-informed policymaking, and more effective use of public funds with respect to other population groups as well,” notes Maria Kaisa Aula, State Secretary to the Ministry of Finance.Governments also need new tools for planning and deciding economic policy and financing solutions to ensure a fair transition to a carbon-neutral society.“Public authorities will play a key role in change. Good foresight, investment in expertise, and modes of policymaking and management are extremely important areas for development,” says Pekka Morén, Senior Ministerial Adviser at the Ministry of Finance.Trust is a key factor in a pilot project concerning dialogue between politicians and public servants.“When making government guidance more proactive, it is important for political policymakers and officials to have a common understanding of objectives, and of the roles of actors in achieving them,” explains Päivi Nerg, Permanent Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Finance.The work of the OECD and the pilot projects will provide the foundation for formulating an operating model or new steering framework during the coming autumn and spring, which will keep pace with the times and be capable of generating the solutions that they require. The project is financed by the European Commission.
NordenBladet — A new discretionary government grant will encourage municipalities to hire more social, health and education services experts at the Ohjaamo service points, where young people can seek help and guidance at a low threshold. The incentive model will strengthen the resources and multi-professional approach of the Ohjaamo service points, in accordance with the Government decision during the budget session in autumn 2020. The aim is for young people to receive more and better support for wellbeing, education and employment in one place.The Ohjaamo service points offer young people a wide range of services on a one-stop-shop basis. Based on studies and feedback by young customers, the need to support the mental wellbeing of young people has increased.“The Government is committed to improving the services for young people and developing the Ohjaamo service points. I am very pleased that the incentive model will help strengthen the Ohjaamo’s multi-professional approach and allocate more resources to support young people. This is all the more important because of the coronavirus pandemic,” says Minister of Employment Tuula Haatainen.Government grants to encourage recruitment of experts at Ohjaamo service pointsBased on the incentive model, a municipality that has recruited a new expert to the Ohjaamo service point can apply for a discretionary government grant to hire another expert. This means that the municipality will be able to employ two experts at the cost of one.Funding for the discretionary government grant will come from the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland. Municipalities that have an Ohjaamo service point can apply for the grant. In total, the funding will amount to EUR 13 million, or EUR 3.25 million per annum. Municipalities may apply for the grant from 1 September 2021 and it will be available until 31 December 2024.The grant can only be used for personnel costs, which involve the strengthening of expertise in social, health or education services at Ohjaamo service points. The funding will be granted for one year at a time.
NordenBladet — An informal meeting of EU foreign ministers (Gymnich) will be held in Kranj, Slovenia, on 2–3 September 2021. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. After the meeting, on 3–4 September, Minister Haavisto will visit Tallinn.The topics of discussion at the Gymnich meeting will be Afghanistan, the relations between the EU and China and the situation in the Persian Gulf. Additionally, a discussion will be held with Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.The foreign ministers will continue their discussion on the situation in Afghanistan and on the EU’s policy on Afghanistan. Finland emphasises that the EU should try to play an important role in questions relating to Afghanistan also in future. The future administration in Afghanistan must commit to respect for universal human rights and other international obligations, such as the right of citizens and residents of Afghanistan to leave the country and the rights of women and girls.Furthermore, the foreign ministers will have an informal discussion on the current state of the EU–China relations and on the EU’s approach to China, which is based on the EU’s Joint Communication on China, published in 2019. Finland has consistently highlighted the importance of regular, high-level discussion on China. With regard to the situation in the Persian Gulf, the ministers will discuss the EU’s approach to the region. For Finland, closer and stronger relations and dialogue between the EU and the countries of the region at all levels is important, including regional cooperation with the countries of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC).The discussion with Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will focus on the Indo-Pacific region and the cooperation between the EU and India.After the meeting, Foreign Minister Haavisto will travel to Tallinn. Haavisto will attend the annual Lennart Meri Conference and have a meeting with President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid and Minister of Foreign Affairs Eva-Maria Liimets.The topics of discussion will be the bilateral relations between Finland and Estonia, the COVID-19 situation and the post-pandemic recovery measures, as well as the regional situation and such topical international questions as Afghanistan and Belarus. “It is always good to have an exchange of views with our close neighbour Estonia,” Minister Haavisto says.
NordenBladet — The first prize in the design competition for a memorial honouring President Mauno Koivisto has been awarded to Kirsi Kaulanen’s proposal Välittäjä (The Mediator). The competition was of an artistically high standard, with 110 entries received. Prizes were awarded to three entries in the competition, while three received commendation awards.The awards committee sought to avoid general value judgements with respect to various artistic trends, styles, or modes of artistic expression, and accordingly decided to commend a wide variety of competition entries.The first prize is valued at EUR 20,000. The committee describes the winning proposal as follows:“This proposed monument will stand on both sides of a pathway through Little Parliament Park. Its polished stainless steel material will incorporate the reflection of onlookers and of the surroundings. The work accordingly places the viewer between two worldviews, reflecting the geographical position of Finland between East and West, and the role of President Mauno Koivisto as a builder of cooperation.The Mediator brings a novel and lighter perspective to traditional presidential monuments. As a spatial and interactive work, it reflects current contemporary art, bringing an interesting new contribution to the field of public art and the cityscape. The work will also be unique by international standards.”The awards committee consisted of the President Mauno Koivisto memorial committee and two artists appointed by the Artists’ Association of Finland. The memorial committee is chaired by former Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen.The memorial to former President Mauno Koivisto will be created based on the proposal that won first prize. The goal is for the memorial to be completed and erected in the park outside the Little Parliament by 25 November 2023, when 100 years will have passed since the birth of former president Koivisto.Second prize awarded to proposal Hitaalla tielläThe second prize, valued at EUR 15,000, was awarded to Matti Vesanen’s proposal Hitaalla tiellä (On the Slow Road).“This work uses four elements to command the space of the park: a statue depicting a walking President Mauno Koivisto, a bronze gate, a granite pathway and a circular fountain. It provides a combination of traditional sculpture and more conceptual spatial art that works well in the context of Little Parliament Park,” the awards committee said. The third prize (EUR 10,000) was awarded to Pauno Pohjolainen’s proposal Sillanrakentaja (The Bridgemaker).“This work interprets the life’s work of President Mauno Koivisto as a builder of bridges between East and West, social classes, and both sides of industry. The creator of the work sought to highlight aspects of President Mauno Koivisto as an acclaimed builder and backroom worker,” the awards committee commented.Commendation awards (EUR 3,333) were given to the following proposals: Considerations (Markus Kähre), Words (Nestori Syrjälä) and A Dockworker in Thought (Anssi Pulkkinen).Images and miniature models of the six award-winning works will be on display at the Helsinki Central Library Oodi on 1–15 September. All of the competition entries can also be viewed in a virtual exhibition online.An official memorial has been created to commemorate all deceased former presidents of the Republic of Finland.The monuments are located in Helsinki and have been donated to the City of Helsinki upon completion. The design competition for President Koivisto’s memorial continues this tradition.
NordenBladet — Economic expectations among SMEs have risen sharply following the pandemic year, the SME Barometer of 4,600 entrepreneurs shows. About 35% of small and medium-sized companies in Finland see an upward economic trend over the next 12 months, compared with 26% of companies six months ago. At the moment, 13% of respondents believe that economic conditions will deteriorate, down from 23% six months earlier. These are the results of the new SME Barometer.“SMEs have trust in the recovery of the Finnish economy now, similarly to consumers. These are positive and important signals about the state of the economy. At the same time, economic conditions are also improving in Finland’s trading partners. I encourage companies to seize the market opportunities that the growth phase offers as the pandemic subsides,” said Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä at the publication of the SME Barometer on 1 September 2021.“The economy is recovering rapidly now. However, the expectations of SMEs still involve a considerable amount of uncertainty as to the future course of the pandemic and the restrictions it has caused,” said Mika Kuismanen, Chief Economist at the Federation of Finnish Enterprises. The near-term expectations of larger SMEs, in particular, are more positive than those of micro-sized companies. Nine out of ten companies operating in Finland are micro-sized companies employing fewer than 10 people. The SME Barometer was conducted as an online and telephone survey by Taloustutkimus Oy in June and July 2021. In all, 4,592 representatives of Finnish SMEs responded to the survey, which was commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Federation of Finnish Enterprises and Finnvera.Rapid rise in costs a threat to good expectations Entrepreneurs are concerned about rising production costs. The prices of raw materials and other intermediate products, in particular, are expected to increase more than before. “Although companies can increase the margins for their products and services, it will not be enough to compensate for the higher price of intermediate products,” said Petri Malinen, Economist at the Federation of Finnish Enterprises.“This is a challenge, because production costs are expected to rise sharply while the exceptionally uncertain situation continues and companies have weaker economic buffers at their disposal. That is why, negotiations on pay rises this autumn should not be solely based on expectations of economic growth,” Malinen added. Coronavirus support has worked reasonably well and companies are preparing for the new normal The Government has provided funding to companies during the coronavirus crisis. Although the amount of subsidies has been moderate in Finland compared to some other countries, 45% of companies here have applied for coronavirus support or funding. Applying for support has been most common in industry. Business subsidies from Business Finland and ELY Centres and business cost support from the State Treasury were the most often used forms of aid. The amount of loans applied for has been significantly smaller than the amount of aid. Almost 9% of entrepreneurs have made use of fixed-term labour market support – a new form of aid available to them. According to the companies, coronavirus subsidies and other types of funding have worked reasonably well: 39% and 38% of respondents said that the aid has met the needs of companies well or at least to some extent, respectively. “This support and funding has helped prevent unnecessary bankruptcies of viable companies and job cuts. It is important now that the support system is not wound down prematurely as that would put companies, jobs and subsidies used so far at risk,” Malinen said.Demand for financing normalisedOf companies planning to increase external financing, 49% said they would apply for funding for machinery and equipment investments. Such plans have increased by five percentage points compared to the previous barometer. It is also positive that 25% of companies applying for funding plan to use it for growth and development projects. “Loan financing plays an important role in the generation of new growth and its availability has remained at a good level. Approximately 35% of the companies applying for a bank loan reported that funding required a guarantee from Finnvera. Meanwhile, 60% of companies with strong growth prospects reported using Finnvera’s guarantee as collateral for a bank loan,” said Juuso Heinilä, Executive Vice President at Finnvera.
NordenBladet — The Ministry of Transport and Communications organised a second discussion on electric scooters and their safety on Tuesday 31 August 2021. The event was attended by companies in the field, as well as representatives of the Finnish Road Safety Council, local authorities, and the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The event was a follow-up to the previous discussion held in July, during which the parties agreed on issues such as nighttime speed limits for electric scooters.Nighttime speed limits to apply every night throughout HelsinkiThe electric scooter operators in Helsinki – Voi, TIER, and Lime – expressed their willingness to extend the nighttime speed limits for electric scooters to also include weekday nights. In future, electric scooter speeds would be limited to 15 km/h every night of the week (between midnight and 5.00 am) and in all areas of Helsinki. Currently, the nighttime speed limit is only applied in the city centre.Electric scooter operators are also ready to reduce the maximum speed of the scooters from 25 to 20 km/h. In many European cities, the maximum speed is already set at 20 km/h.According to the scooter operators, nighttime drunk riding could also be reduced through changes to the locations at which scooters are made available. To this end, the companies are planning to actively move scooters away from busy bar districts to reduce the likelihood of drunk riding.“I welcome the shared commitment of the operators to improve safety, and we also discussed improving infrastructure and parking facilities. Together with the scooter operators and the City of Helsinki, we agreed to look into the possibility to make the scooters temporarily unavailable during weekend nights in the coming autumn season,” says Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka.“Measures related to legislative changes and restrictions may be reviewed and, where appropriate, included in the transport safety strategy. However, this is an issued limited to certain localities and times of the day, so it is the local authorities who are assuming a key role as the party responsible for the security and order within the urban space,” Minister Harakka says. What’s next?The preparation of the transport safety strategy will continue in the autumn in co-operation with stakeholders. Electric scooter operators are also taking practical steps to improve safety, including training users and adding a “beginner’s mode” with a lower speed setting to their scooters.Going forward, the aim is to avoid similar safety problems to those experienced this summer. Key to this is adequate knowledge of the traffic regulations and positive attitudes towards following them.
NordenBladet — Funding is now being collected to purchase the Myllykoski hydropower plant in Kuusamo. The idea is to demolish the plant so that threatened lake trout will be able to migrate freely to large areas of streams and lakes. A binding preliminary agreement was signed and the first deposit paid to Koskienergia Koskivoima Oy on 31 August. The project receives support from the migratory fish programme NOUSU of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.After the plant is no longer in use, water will be conducted back to the river Piilijoki, through which fish will be able to migrate from the main stem of the river Kuusinkijoki all the way to the headwaters. The river Kuusinkijoki is one of the three famous trout river in Kuusamo. The two other are the rivers Kitkajoki and Oulankajoki. These three rivers come together on the Russian side and discharge into lake Paanajärvi. From there the route continues to lake Pääjärvi, which has extensive feeding areas for lake trout. “Kuusamo is a city with beautiful nature and fantastic rivers. The hydropower plant has prevented fish from migrating upstream, which has caused the lake trout population to decline in recent years. The project will make 50 kilometres of spawning areas available for fish. This will be extremely important for lake trout, which is one of our threatened species,” says Matti Aikio, Chair of Kuusinkijoki kuntoon ry, an association whose mission is to restore the river. Funds for the transaction collected until the end of 2022The State is committed to proving 50% of the funds needed for purchasing the hydropower plant. The aim of the migratory fish programme NOUSU is to improve the status of migratory fish species and fish populations that are threatened.“The River Kuusinkijoki is a high priority – the potential of this water area is huge,” says Matti Vaittinen, Project Coordinator of the migratory fish programme NOUSU. To complete the transaction, the local association must collect half of the necessary funds from other sources by 2022. “Now support from all friends of nature will be needed to come up with the share of the funding that is to be collected from private sources. Through this project, we may be able to help the unique trout population to recover. Another reason why the project is highly valuable for Kuusamo is that it will contribute to the viability of the region by boosting fishing tourism, which will also increase property values around the water bodies,” says Jouko Manninen, Chief Executive of Kuusamo.“I wish to thank all those who have already donated money for the project. Thanks to them, we are again one step closer to reaching our goal. I also wish to thank the City of Kuusamo, which has been very supportive to the project,” Aikio says. A letter of intent on the project was signed in Helsinki on 4 March 2021.
NordenBladet — Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Japan on 1–5 September 2021. Minister Skinnari will attend the Tokyo 2021 Paralympic Games as a representative of Finnish state leaders and have meetings with Japanese ministers and representatives of Japanese companies.“I will attend the Paralympic Games and follow Finnish athletes’ performances. In Finnish development policy, the promotion of the rights of persons with a disability is one of the priorities. We have excellent opportunities to succeed and several Finnish athletes may win a medal. Finland has much expertise in sports for people with a disability, and we want to further develop and expand our knowledge in international contexts,” Minister Skinnari says.
NordenBladet — The Government has adopted a new decree on the exceptions to the obligation to present a COVID-19 certificate or undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival in Finland from abroad. The decree will enter into force on 1 September 2021.People arriving in Finland will be required to have a reliable certificate of recovery from COVID-19 within the past six months, of a full vaccine course or of a negative COVID-19 test taken before arrival in Finland.The obligation to show proof or be tested for COVID-19 does not apply to people arriving in Finland from countries or regions where the incidence of COVID-19 or the prevalence of virus variants does not pose a particular risk of spreading the epidemic.Under the government decree, people arriving in Finland from the following countries or regions will not be required to be tested or show a certificate: Hong Kong, China, Macao, Malta, Taiwan, Hungary, New Zealand, Poland and the Vatican, and the Norwegian municipalities of Storfjord, Kåfjord, Nordreisa, Kautokeino, Karasjok, Tana, Nesseby and Sør-Varanger and the Swedish municipalities of Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala and Övertorneå.Also, people arriving from these countries or regions are not required to take a second COVID-19 test within 72–120 hours of their arrival in Finland.The current government decree will expire on 31 August, and the new decree will remain in force until 15 October 2021. The list of countries and regions and the epidemiological situation will be reviewed every two weeks.
