TAGUIG CITY
– Followed the instructions very well, in that quadrilateral.
Škoda Transtech’s welding advisor Harri Heikkinen examines the carbon steel output with a flashlight.
The third test day is underway in Taguig City, the capital of the Philippines.
A total of 50 welders have arrived from different parts of the Philippines for the welding tests organized by the Finns. Twenty of them should be found to work in Kajaani already for the summer to manufacture tram and train carriages.
The order books of Škoda Transtech from Kajaani are filling up: the factory supplies express trams to Tampere, Helsinki and Germany.
In addition, VR has ordered nine new night train carriages and eight car transport carriages by 2025.
The only problem is that there are no qualified welders in Finland, and no longer in Europe either.
Youtube welder: I believe I will be chosen
The test was difficult, but it went well, inches Rosauro Coronacion36. He traveled more than ten hours for the test from the northern province of Isabela.
A train car factory in Finland sounds interesting.
– I am 75-80% sure that I will get the job. If not, too bad!
Not that he didn’t have other options. Many parties around the world are now looking for welders like Coronacion.
He has 12 years of welding experience in Japan, Dubai and the Philippines. When the pandemic took away orders from his own company, Coronacion started making Youtube tutorials (you will switch to another service) i.e. instructional videos for those interested in welding.
– I have the most experience with heavy metals, while Škoda works more with low-carbon steel. But I think I could handle the job, he says.
Waiters from Asia now also come to Finland
Finland is on the cusp, he says Elina Koskela. He is the head of international recruitment for the HR company Barona and is in the Philippines for the ninth time.
Koskela has been looking for IT experts for Finnish employers in addition to nurses and cooks – and now, as a new large group, welders.
The next week will be the first waiter recruitments from the Philippines.
Waiters have to be found all the way from Southeast Asia, because you can’t get closer to them anymore.
– There is also a shortage of waiters in Poland. All of Europe is competing for the same talent, Koskela says.
Finland’s attractiveness has decreased in the eyes of Eastern European job seekers, because net salaries have lagged behind many countries.
Migrants within Europe also rarely move their entire lives to Finland. What is important to them is a reasonable distance from home, says Koskela.
The tactics have changed: work for the spouse as well
Previously, employers applied for foreign labor on a project basis, but now they want permanent immigrants to Finland, Koskela says.
The labor shortage is so severe, and thousands of workers leave the labor market every year.
For example, waiters are needed for year-round employment all over the country, not just seasonally in Lapland.
That’s why the tactics have changed. In order to engage the newcomer, we also try to find work for his spouse in Finland.
This is an easier path than family reunification, for which the required income limits are too high for many, says Elina Koskela.
Škoda’s wagon factory specifically hopes for families in Kajaani who would take root in Kainuu.
The company is not as interested in employees who visit the community only to turn around and send money home.
The factory has invested with the city of Kajaani that the welders’ spouses would also get a job in the area.
– The labor shortage can be alleviated in various fields precisely by looking for comprehensive solutions for families, CEO of Škoda Transtech Juha Vierros says in a video call.
He points out that it is also smarter for Finnish society that the whole family is in Finland bringing added value, for example by consuming and paying taxes.
It’s not about cheap labor
It saddens Vierro that the image of cheap Asian labor is associated with a shortage of welders.
– I am sad that these good professionals are compared to cheap labor. When it’s not about trying to push the cost level down, says Vierros.
Workers coming from faraway countries have the same conditions as others, Vierros emphasizes.
Besides, hired labor is more expensive for the company than its own people, he says. It is not cheap to acquire employees through a personnel service company from abroad and train them for a demanding task.
Škoda Transtech organizes a job orientation together with Kainuu Vocational College. The training lasts half a year.
– It’s absurd that we have a person for two years at the most and we have to find a replacement, says Vierros.
The Philippines is a permanent solution to Finland’s labor shortage
Škoda Transtech has been looking for professional welders for years from Kainuu, Finland and Europe – and most recently from Central Asia. In the past, you could get experienced workers from Russia and Ukraine, but the war has driven them away.
– For us, the Philippines is not an isolated experiment but a permanent solution to this workforce problem, CEO Vierros says.
Barona also sees that the importance of the Philippines to Finland is only growing.
According to Elina Koskela, the eyes of employers have been opened to the fact that the Philippines has other skills than nurses and cleaners.
The country’s population is young, English-speaking and relatively competent. The adaptability of Filipinos is also good because they are used to going abroad for work.
But even Filipinos don’t go to get anything other than milk from the market. There is a demand for them, and they need to be attracted, says Vierros.
According to Koskela, Finland’s strengths are a safe, functioning society, clean nature and the opportunity to offer the family a better future.
“My wife could train in the care sector”
Rosauro Coronacion would like to bring his family to Finland if it were possible. He would like his children to grow up with him.
– It’s because of them that I do this, says Coronacion.
His wife previously worked in Dubai as a domestic helper and has also taken care of the elderly. In Finland, the wife could train in the care sector, for example, Coronacion thinks.
– I could also make YouTube videos about Kajaani, which could attract more Filipinos to Finland.
What do you think about the solutions to the labor shortage? You can discuss the topic until Tuesday 7.2. until 11 p.m.