Language and labour in Finnish job market migrants’ experiences on ‘Finnish proficiency’ shaping their employment and career

This study explores how the blanket application of Finnish language proficiency shapes the career trajectories of migrants in Finland. The essentiality of the Finnish language to migrants for socio-economic integration in the Finnish society inspires this study. Grounded in the dual and segmented...

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Päätekijä: Victor, Oni
Muut tekijät: Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja filosofian laitos, Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Jyväskylän yliopisto, University of Jyväskylä
Aineistotyyppi: Pro gradu
Kieli:eng
Julkaistu: 2025
Aiheet:
Linkit: https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/103508
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author Victor, Oni
author2 Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja filosofian laitos Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_facet Victor, Oni Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja filosofian laitos Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä Victor, Oni Humanistis-yhteiskuntatieteellinen tiedekunta Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Yhteiskuntatieteiden ja filosofian laitos Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy Jyväskylän yliopisto University of Jyväskylä
author_sort Victor, Oni
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description This study explores how the blanket application of Finnish language proficiency shapes the career trajectories of migrants in Finland. The essentiality of the Finnish language to migrants for socio-economic integration in the Finnish society inspires this study. Grounded in the dual and segmented labour market theories, this research investigates and documents the experiences of migrants navigating the Finnish labour market. Additionally, it contests the justification of employer’s emphasis on Finnish fluency reflecting operational needs by presenting other concealed biases from migrants’ experiences. The research generates insight into the connections between employer’s hiring practices, by using the Finnish language as a gatekeeping tool consequently affecting the employment situation of educated and skilled migrants withing the Finnish labour market. This results to addressing two research questions: (a) how does Finnish language proficiency affect migrants' access to the labour market? (b) to what extent is the widespread emphasis on Finnish language proficiency a justifiable criterion for Migrants’ labour market integration, in contrast to a devious tool that conceals the influence of other central underlying barriers? Sixteen semi-structured interviews were conducted through a qualitative study and data was thematically analysed with Microsoft Words and ATLAS.ti. Findings revealed that migrants considered Finnish Language central to finding employments on Finland, thus they strived to acquire it. The complexity of learning Finnish backed by lack of institutional and societal support made it difficult to acquire. Therefore, due to employer hiring practices, the lack of fluent Finnish skill excludes majority of migrants from key labour market participation. Migrants instead end up in the secondary segment and periphery of the Finnish labour market. However, further findings shows that the notion of fluent Finnish proficiency translating to job is but a simplistic ideology as employer ethnic preference, name, convenience and inconsistency is concealed under the language proficiency requirements. The implicit discriminations hidden under the Finnish language criteria thus decides the employment outcomes for both first- and second-generation migrants in Finland leaving them with an uncertain future. The research questions the economic importance of migrants in the Finnish labour market and recommends the full participation of highly skilled and educated migrants fostering true labour market integration. The resurrection of the TUPO tripartite agreement can achieve this when migrants are protected by creating policy interventions that balance genuine language needs by illuminating and monitoring cultural and structural barriers.
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The essentiality of the Finnish language to migrants for socio-economic integration in the Finnish society inspires this study. Grounded in the dual and segmented labour market theories, this research investigates and documents the experiences of migrants navigating the Finnish labour market. Additionally, it contests the justification of employer\u2019s emphasis on Finnish fluency reflecting operational needs by presenting other concealed biases from migrants\u2019 experiences. \nThe research generates insight into the connections between employer\u2019s hiring practices, by using the Finnish language as a gatekeeping tool consequently affecting the employment situation of educated and skilled migrants withing the Finnish labour market. This results to addressing two research questions: (a) how does Finnish language proficiency affect migrants' access to the labour market? 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spellingShingle Victor, Oni Language and labour in Finnish job market : migrants’ experiences on ‘Finnish proficiency’ shaping their employment and career Kansainvälinen kehitystyö (maisteriohjelma) Master's Degree Programme in Development and International Cooperation työmarkkinat maahanmuuttajat ulkomainen työvoima työllistyminen suomen kieli kielitaito työperäinen maahanmuutto ulkomaalaiset kotoutuminen (maahanmuuttajat)
title Language and labour in Finnish job market : migrants’ experiences on ‘Finnish proficiency’ shaping their employment and career
title_full Language and labour in Finnish job market : migrants’ experiences on ‘Finnish proficiency’ shaping their employment and career
title_fullStr Language and labour in Finnish job market : migrants’ experiences on ‘Finnish proficiency’ shaping their employment and career Language and labour in Finnish job market : migrants’ experiences on ‘Finnish proficiency’ shaping their employment and career
title_full_unstemmed Language and labour in Finnish job market : migrants’ experiences on ‘Finnish proficiency’ shaping their employment and career Language and labour in Finnish job market : migrants’ experiences on ‘Finnish proficiency’ shaping their employment and career
title_short Language and labour in Finnish job market
title_sort language and labour in finnish job market migrants experiences on finnish proficiency shaping their employment and career
title_sub migrants’ experiences on ‘Finnish proficiency’ shaping their employment and career
title_txtP Language and labour in Finnish job market : migrants’ experiences on ‘Finnish proficiency’ shaping their employment and career
topic Kansainvälinen kehitystyö (maisteriohjelma) Master's Degree Programme in Development and International Cooperation työmarkkinat maahanmuuttajat ulkomainen työvoima työllistyminen suomen kieli kielitaito työperäinen maahanmuutto ulkomaalaiset kotoutuminen (maahanmuuttajat)
topic_facet Kansainvälinen kehitystyö (maisteriohjelma) Master's Degree Programme in Development and International Cooperation kielitaito kotoutuminen (maahanmuuttajat) maahanmuuttajat suomen kieli työllistyminen työmarkkinat työperäinen maahanmuutto ulkomaalaiset ulkomainen työvoima
url https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/103508 http://www.urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202506135321
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