Published in 5/2024 - Crossing the Borders

Article

How to Integrate into the Finnish Workforce?

Martino De Rossi

To integrate fully into Finnish society, you need to learn the language, says Martino De Rossi.

What do you do when you fall in love with a country and its architecture and realise that you want to work there, even though the only thing you really know about the place is that it has a really great wood building tradition?

I got my first glimpse at Finland, and Oulu’s wood architecture, in 2011. I fell in love with it there and then and decided I needed to start looking for a job. I immediately started firing off job applications to potential Finnish employers, still based in my homeland Italy. 

The first few responses I received were along the lines of “thanks for your application, stunning portfolio, shame you don’t speak Finnish”. (I did get invited to a few interviews too.) At first, I was a bit crushed. But then I made two decisions: I would move to Finland and learn Finnish. I made my move in June 2014, propped up by my very modest savings. Luckily, I already had some contacts in Finland at this point. They were immensely helpful, and I am so grateful for all they did for me.

The moment I arrived, I started networking and within less than a year I was freelancing for a few Helsinki-based practices. I rented my own studio and set up a practice with architect Kristiina Kuusiluoma. And that’s how it all happened, it was all very organic.

These are my top tips for international architects based in Finland:

1. Never lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve. You can’t map out every step of your journey in advance, but you do need to have some idea of where you want to end up. You will start to see the destination more clearly along the way.

2. When you’ve just arrived, and you know nothing and no one, take a moment to just observe. Public saunas, of which there are plenty in Finland, are a great place to pick up information. Be ready to learn, even if it means leaving your comfort zone behind.

3. “I know what works, the Finns are all crazy.” It’s a good idea to replace thoughts like that with the recognition that a lot of things here actually make sense, and there are lots of new and wonderful things to experience.

4. To integrate fully into Finnish society, you need to learn the language. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to work as an architect and also enjoy really excellent chats with the seniors in the sauna, they’re really funny. ↙

MARTINO DE ROSSI is a partner of Collaboratorio.