Integrating Migrants and Refugees into the Workforce

The Social Issue:

In recent years, Finland has experienced a massive wave of immigration, resulting in a variety of complex social challenges. Perhaps the most glaring difficulty facing the immigrants of Finland is rampant unemployment, leading to socioeconomic stress on communities and strains on the national economy. It has been shown that the refugee and immigrant population are two to five times more likely of being unemployed in comparison to the local population.

The Economic Impact

The immigrants and refugees that arrive in Finland face great difficulty in finding employment for a variety of reasons. At the same time, several industries in Finland face a shortage in workers. Those refugees and immigrants that did managed to integrate into Finland´s workforce, demonstrated substantially less dependence on government welfare allowances than those who remained unemployed.

With that said, this Social Impact Bond works to provide employment opportunities to refugee and immigrant jobseekers, connecting them with potential employees in industries facing worker shortages, while offering career and skill development resources.

The Intervention Program:

The intervention launched by this Social Impact Bond is centered on creating personalized action plans for employment. The program will offer interview preparation resources, skill development courses and on-the-job training, in order to maximize the abilities of the individual and successfully integrate them into workforce.

Impact Measurements

To measure the impact of this SIB, the percentage of refugees and immigrants who find employment as a result of program activities will be tracked. If the program is successful, it will be replicated and scaled throughout Finland.