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Published in 5/2024 - Crossing the Borders
How Can I Support My International Colleagues?
As individual practitioners, we can play a role in making our profession more inclusive, writes Arvind Ramachandran.
The Finnish government’s decision to tighten immigration requirements comes at a challenging time for international architects in the country, as it coincides with a slowdown in the construction industry. As individual practitioners, we may not have much control over legislative developments or the direction the building sector is taking, but we can still play a role in making our profession more inclusive.
Most of us know a classmate, colleague or team member who has moved to Finland from abroad. We can all be more proactive in helping these colleagues to find work, to progress in their careers and to generally thrive within the profession.
It can be hard to know where to start, but simple is often best. “How can I help?” is an excellent first question.
Do you have a classmate from university who is looking for a job? How about reaching out to them with names of local practices you might be hiring?
Or do you maybe know a colleague in need of some peer support? Could you review their portfolio and offer feedback to help them with the job search?
If you have more professional experience under your belt, could you talk someone through the intricacies of Finnish building regulations?
Are you active in professional organisations? Could you help promote initiatives that would help international architects based in Finland?
Do you run your own practice? Could you introduce workplace practices that promote equality and non-discrimination, not just in recruitment, but also in everyday work-life?
More than the scale of one’s actions towards promoting diversity in the profession, it is crucial that each of us gets involved in the collective effort. More so, since international architects in Finland face a series of challenges and sustained work is needed for meaningful change.
By working together, we can help our international colleagues succeed, strengthen the resilience of the architectural field in Finland, be better placed to respond to the needs of an increasingly diverse society and leave ourselves better prepared to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. ↙
ARVIND RAMACHANDRAN is an Indian architect based in Finland. He chairs the board of TAR, which is a committee representing architect members’ interests within the labour union TEK.