The second round of the Vaasa International Talents programme sets off
On January 19th the Vaasa International Talents programme officially started its second round with 20 international talents representing four Bachelor level, and eight Master level programmes from five different higher education institutions in Vaasa: University of Vaasa, VAMK University of Applied Sciences, Novia University of Applied Sciences, Åbo Akademi University and Hanken School of Economics. The programme is coordinated by Novia UAS and financed by the City of Vaasa.
The kick-off session started with warm greetings from Mayor Tomas Häyry, who emphasized the great need of international talents from different professions.
"Even though the energy technology is so prominent in Vaasa, it’s not only about energy, but also more about people. The people who make solutions to help us save the world and make it a better place. When people are productive, innovative, and creative, good things happen. So, investing in people as we are doing with the Vaasa talents, will work both ways. For the talents to get hired and for the city to be more international," Tomas Häyry added.
While having hard times coping with the recent situation of the pandemic, Häyry assured the importance of being open and inclusive to welcome the international talents and to keep them here in Vaasa after they get their degrees. He also encouraged the participants to share their ideas and visions on how the city could be more international in the upcoming years.
The second guest speaker was Mikael Hallbäck, the Director of Ostrobothnia Chamber of Commerce, who gave an informative overview of the business environment in Vaasa and the whole Ostrobothnia region. Mikael pointed that all regional development companies are working and co-creating together to create an attractive Vaasa for internationals and for investments as well.
He presented amongst other things a list of summer job opportunities that do not require Finnish or Swedish languages competencies, encouraging the programme participants to apply as soon as possible.
The speeches of the guests were followed by an open discussion and questions raised by the students on the existing job opportunities after graduation and whether the language requirements would be a barrier or not. In addition, the idea of entrepreneurship was discussed and VASEK was recommended to provide students with all legal and other related information, along with assessment and business plans to help them start their business and make it succeed in the Finnish market.
The Vaasa International Talents programme will be held for two months covering different competence development sessions to equip students with all the necessary skills they need for the labour market and connect them with different working life actors.
Through the programme, participants will get individual coaching sessions from career coaches to assess their job application materials, prompt them to think about their career goals and help them to consider their options.
For more information on the Vaasa International Talents programme go to www.vaasainternationaltalents.fi
Through Vaasa International Talents, companies and other working life actors can easily find international resources representing a variety of degree programmes at the higher education institutions in Vaasa. The students have been exclusively selected to the programme. The programme equips participants with must-know facts about Finnish and local working life and its expectations on job applicants and employees.