Challenges of asylum seekers in entering Finnish labor market

Abstract

Immigration has been a central part of human cultures. Peoples‟ plans to immigrate are usually caused by different social and economic factors. Immigrants however, may face a lot of barriers in the areas where they settle. Although there are still very few immigrants in Finland, Finland's comparatively short migration history raises a variety of difficulties in integrating immigrants. There exists enough evidence which shows that difficulties in immigrants‟ integration can result in weak labor market outcomes for some communities. Women, immigrant children, and humanitarian migrants as evident of the growing number of arrivals across the asylum system at the end of 2015, increased integration problems. The study had a sample size of 8 males aged between 25 years and 31 years. The targeted sample composed of individuals who are asylum seekers in Finland.

The research paper revolved around the growing number of arrivals across the asylum system at the end of 2015 and the challenges they faced during the integration process. The target country is Finland, which was granted 32 000 asylum seekers in the same year; equivalent to 6.6 for every 1000 Finns. The country deals with the implications, both regarding the immediate accommodation requirements, initial resettlement, and long-term integration into the Finnish labor market and culture.

The general objective of the study was to identify challenges that asylum seekers experience while looking for a job in Finland, determine how they attempt to integrate themselves in the Finnish labour market, and explain the role of diversity management in their integration. The study further had two specific research questions that included; what are the challenges that Arab asylum seekers experience in job search? And how do they attempt to integrate themselves the Finnish labour market? The theoretical part discusses the integration of asylum seekers into the Finnish labor market, a problem that opens a lot of possibilities for future research where we can identify how to improve the asylum seekers‟ employment problem and try to manage it in the minimum time possible.

The study methodology is descriptive cross-sectional design. The study adopted qualitative method of data collection. Qualitative research approach was used, because it allowed the researcher to understand informants' personal experiences regarding the integration into the Finnish working life.The data from semi-structured interviews were coded, sorted, cleaned, and analyzed using Nvivo software.The study identifies three main themes that concern the main challenges faced while seeking employment opportunities in Finland, attempts to integrate into Finnish labour market, as well as similarities and differences regarding the perceived diversity management and HR practices. The findings of the study showed that a lot of asylum seekers found it difficult to find jobs in Finland, but there were a few who managed to get odd jobs quickly. It was evident that; steps should be taken so that the people coming for asylum should get proper employment according to their qualifications or at least a part-time job so that they can financially support themselves, know more about the Finnish society, get more motivated in learning the language and know more about their opportunities in Finland. Based on these findings of the study, the study recommends that asylum seekers need to get the desired counseling and support from government, companies, as well as locals so that they can become a productive part of the economy. Taking asylum seekers is a noble thing but making them a part of the society is a real challenge.