You can work together with your Employment Services specialist to plan ways for you to find work or discuss training and services that you should apply for. If you and the specialist do not have a mutual language, an interpreter may be arranged.
If you are an integration customer, i.e. have been issued a residence permit in Finland no more than three years ago, we will prepare an integration plan for you together and enrol you in integration training or multilingual social orientation, for example.
Integration plan
The integration plan specifies the services you need for employment and integration. These may include the following:
- Finnish or Swedish language training
- integration training
- vocational education
- work try-outs
- job search training
- pay-subsidised work.
If you have received your first residence permit more than three years ago, we cannot prepare an integration plan for you.
If you already have an integration plan, please contact your own specialist at Helsinki Employment Services. They will help you determine your integration period.
Integration training
Integration training is intended for those who have recently moved to Finland. The training usually takes about a year. You can choose Finnish or Swedish as your integration language. You can discuss your choice of language and the duration of your training with your assigned specialist.
You cannot choose your own integration training. You will be entered on the waiting list and receive an invitation when places become available.
In the integration training:
- you will learn the Finnish or Swedish language and communication skills
- you will learn skills needed in Finnish society and working life
- you will receive your personal professional plan.
Once you have completed your integration training, you will be able to speak Finnish or Swedish fluently enough to manage daily life, such as work, shopping and using public services. After completion, you can apply for jobs or learn a trade, for example.
Learning Finnish or Swedish
When you want to study Finnish or Swedish in another course or want to learn to read and write, please discuss this with the Employment Services specialist before starting the course.
You can also study languages independently. Find courses in the FinnishCourses.fi online service(Link leads to external service) (website available in Finnish, English and Russian).
You can also find study materials on the InfoFinland(Link leads to external service) website and in libraries(Link leads to external service).