Finland, seven times voted the world’s happiest country, is losing its ability to attract foreign talent amid concerns over anti-immigration policies, but officials say “everyone has a responsibility to create an open discourse.”
A survey published this month by the Finnish Association of Engineers and Architects (TEK) and the Union of Engineers shows that 89% of highly skilled workers find the immigration debate started by Petteri Orpo’s government worrying, and 81% believe the situation for foreigners will worsen in the next five years.
A study of 1,044 foreign experts living in the Nordic country shows that only 52% of them would recommend Finland as a place to live and work, a figure that highlights the growing frustration of skilled foreign workers living in the Nordic country.