Finland is rolling out a significant initiative aimed at integrating nurses trained outside the EU/EEA into its healthcare system. Spearheaded by Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, the initiative seeks to streamline the process for these nurses to gain licensure and employment in Finland, in roles that match their qualifications. This effort, backed by nearly three million euros in funding, involves 20 universities of applied sciences across the country ..read more

THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) is considering shutting down Työkanava, a state-funded staffing service provider that focuses on providing employment opportunities to people with impaired capacity to work, reports Helsingin Sanomat. “This is the kind of message we got from officials late in the week,” Sari Nikkola, the managing director of Työkanava, stated to Helsingin Sanomat on Sunday ..read more

THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) will start its two-day framework session today, looking to agree on spending cuts and tax increased worth a total of three billion euros to rein in the growth of public debt. The framework session will also produce the general government fiscal plan for 2025–2028 ..read more

Helsinki University Hospital (HUS) has recently faced a shortage of staff, resulting in the postponement of pre-planned orthopedic surgeries at Siltasairaala. Currently, the operating room resources are being used to attend to emergency trauma and neurosurgery patients. Despite this setback, orthopedic surgeries are continuing as usual at other HUS hospitals, such as Peijaksen, Lohjan, Hyvinkää, and Porvoon ..read more

In 2023, Finnish startups experienced a significant reduction in funding, down from the previous year's record highs, reflecting a broader trend of economic slowdown affecting startup investments across Europe and the United States. According to the Finnish Venture Capital Association (FVCA), total growth funding for Finnish startups was approximately €871 million, a sharp decline from the €1.7 billion raised in 2022 ..read more

A recent doctoral thesis by Jori Grym sheds light on the moral motivations that drive people to either pay taxes or evade them, highlighting the influence of communal values and emerging financial technologies on these behaviors. Grym's research, which explores the deeper psychological reasons behind tax compliance and evasion, suggests that a person’s sense of community plays a crucial role in their willingness to contribute to public coffers, whereas adherence to rules strongly influences their judgment of tax evasion ..read more

THE GOVERNMENT of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) has started drafting amendments to the child welfare act to set up a rehabilitation system for children who commit crimes, use violence and have serious substance abuse problems, reports Helsingin Sanomat. The Ombudsman for Children called for the establishments of such hybrid units in a statement issued in conjunction its annual report, echoing long-running demands by experts ..read more

THE OPPOSITION on Thursday tore into the government over its reported plans to slash pensions at the framework session scheduled for 15–16 April. Kimmo Kiljunen (SDP) opened the question-time debate in parliament by reminding that the decision to slash pensions would represent an about-face from promises made in the government programme ..read more

START-UPS in Finland continue to worry about a government proposal for tough re-employment requirements on foreign employees, reports YLE. The Finnish government is moving forward with a bill decreeing that foreign specialists must leave the country if they fail to re-employ themselves within six months and other holders of work-based residence permits within three months after becoming unemployed ..read more

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on Wednesday approved a long-debated pact consisting of ten asylum and migration-related bills. The pact sets forth, for example, mandatory solidarity actions toward member states that are under exceptional pressure from a surge of asylum applications. The other member states can decide whether to demonstrate solidarity by receiving a share of asylum seekers, providing funding or providing operational or technical support ..read more