- According to the UN, Finland has the second-most over 65-year-olds compared to working-age people in the world. Only Japan has more. This is one of the reasons why we are in dire need of new specialists and experts to make sure companies in the Turku region have what they need to grow. Through the #TalentedByNature campaign, we are attempting to achieve widespread global visibility among talents, investors and startup entrepreneurs looking for new opportunities, says Janina Nieminen, Marketing Manager at Turku Science Park Ltd.
The #TalentedByNature campaign is part of the national Talent Boost programme. The campaign is coordinated by Turku Science Park Ltd. in collaboration with the City of Turku. Other Southwest Finland cities will join the campaign at a later date.
Successful Integration is Key
At the centre of the campaign are seven highly educated talents currently either employed or studying in the Turku region. As the Talent Ambassadors of Southwest Finland, they create inspiring and personal social media and web content about their daily lives, hobbies, and work. The content will be shared on the Turku Business Region channels as well as the City of Turku and Visit Turku channels, along with the talents’ own profiles from July 2021 onwards.
- The campaign is a great way to raise Turku’s profile and let people know about the amazing things the city has to offer. Through my posts, I aim to offer an insight into everyday life here, as well as how international talents can successfully integrate into Finnish society, says Jonathon Murphy, originally from the UK. Murphy moved to Turku with his Finnish girlfriend. After getting married and having a baby, Turku has proved to be a place to settle down in. Murphy, who is currently finishing his studies at the University of Turku, is working as a Talent Advisor at the City of Turku.
- We are at the top of the list when it comes to the safety and the quality of life experienced by expatriates living in Finland. However, according to the latest Expat Insider study, Finland has dropped slightly in rankings related to retention. That is why, with the #TalentedByNature campaign, we are looking to increase not only the attractiveness of our region, but also the retentiveness. The stories and experiences shared by the talents are crucial when we develop operations and services related to retention and integration, says Project Manager Arjan Myftari from the City of Turku.
The Talent Ambassadors represent different backgrounds and life situations. In addition to Jonathon Murphy, the talents include environmental startup founder and researcher Nitin Agrawal from India, student Jessica Blackburn from the UK, Business Solutions Manager Omar Castro from Colombia, health technology researcher Meghadipa Goswami from India, senior software developer Mehdi Javan from Iran and startup founder and biologist Ksenia Zueva from Russia. The lives and posts of the talents can be followed online with the hashtag #TalentedByNature. The campaign website can be found at careerinsouthwestfinland.fi/talentedbynature.
Turku Has Experience in Successfully Attracting International Talents
Turku has successfully attracted international talents in recent years. At the beginning of the year, a campaign called Happy Pro was conducted in collaboration with five cities in Southwest Finland and it reached an audience of 4.5 million people worldwide. Over 900 individuals filled out a playful questionnaire, thus expressing their interest in Southwest Finland. More details about the campaign can be found at talentcall.fi/happypro or turkubusinessregion.com.
Additionally, the Talent Call competition took place in 2019. The competition saw five talents with their families get to know Turku as a place to live and work. Talent Call received over 1000 applications with over 75 different nationalities represented. One couple of the 2019 winners has worked in the technology industry in Turku since August 2020, and another family arrived in Finland in the spring of 2021. The intention is to organise Talent Call again in 2022. This time the winners would get to visit five cities in Southwest Finland.
The #TalentedByNature campaign is conducted as part of the Talent Turku project, which is a collaboration between Turku Science Park Ltd. and the City of Turku. Talent Turku is part of the national Talent Boost Finland programme, which is coordinated by the Ministry of Employment and Economic Affairs and aims at the attraction, retention, and integration of international talents.