The research programmes of the Strategic Research Council, Osaavat työntekijät – menestyvät työmarkkinat, Terveys, hyvinvointi ja elämäntavat, Tasa-arvoinen yhteiskunta ja Turvallisuus verkottuneessa maailmassa (Skilled employees – successful labour market, Health, welfare and lifestyles, Equal society and Security in the networked world) and the seven different research projects within them have published common policy recommendations Maahanmuuttaja osalliseksi ja työhön (Immigrant participation and employment). SWiPE is one of the projects and SWiPE-researcher Satu Aaltonen and programme manager Eveliina Saari participated in the writing of policy brief.
Various projects of the Strategic Research Council have studied the promotion and blocking of the employment of immigrants from different groups in the areas of wellbeing, family reunification, integration of women, employment experiments, employment in various sectors and from an entrepreneurial perspective. The policy recommendations for immigrant participation and employment have been drawn up on the basis of research results collected in various research projects. The focus is in particular in the development of employment conditions of immigrants who have residence permits. Promoting the employment and entrepreneurship of immigrants is seen as having a significant impact on the promotion of the wellbeing and integration of immigrants. The development of the conditions of the employment of immigrants therefore also has a broad societal impact. The aim of the policy brief is to introduce recommendations based on research results to public authorities, policy actors, service providers and employers.
The SWiPE research has specifically focused on issues related to immigrant entrepreneurship. SWiPE researcher Satu Aaltonen raises one important policy recommendation in a total list of 14 different policy recommendations.
– It is worth investing at diverse business advice at local level, says Satu Aaltonen.
Another important policy recommendation, particularly on the basis of the research results of the SWiPE research project, is the recommendation that municipalities, regions, new business centres and entrepreneurship agencies can support immigrant entrepreneurship by organising entrepreneurs events that help to solve challenges of enterpreneurship. Also the funders of businesses are invited. Satu Aaltonen emphasises that immigrant entrepreneurs feel primarily as entrepreneurs and that the peers are searched from other companies and entrepreneurs, not just immigrant companies and entrepreneurs.
“The early stage challenges of entrepreneurship are largely the same for natives as for the immigrants”, emphasizes Satu Aaltonen.
Policy brief was published in “Maahanmuuttajien hyvinvointi ja työllistyminen” (welfare and employability of immigrants) seminar on 14 March 2019. At the seminar, the decision-makers, experts and researchers discussed issues such as the education of immigrants, entrepreneurship and wellbeing. SWiPE researcher Satu Aaltonen took part in the discussion of the path of immigrant employment and entrepreneurship.
Read more from the policy brief: Maahanmuuttaja osalliseksi ja työhön (in Finnish)
SWiPE has also published a policy brief Yrittäjyysneuvonnalla monimuotoisuutta yrityskenttään – suosituksia yrittäjyyden tukemiseen, which is available on SWiPE project’s website. (in Finnish)