WiNK - Work in North Karelia project

The aim of the WiNK – Work in North Karelia group project (hereinafter referred to as the WiNK project) is to create a networked operating model in North Karelia that supports the employment and integration of international experts. The model coordinates and develops international recruitment guidance, advice and services for companies and employers, services and processes for international experts, and the expertise of the actors involved in the activity. The measures will strengthen the retention power of the region so that international experts studying and residing in the region will remain in the region permanently.

The main applicant for the project is the North Karelia Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment. The sub-projects of the group project are implemented by the University of Eastern Finland, Karelia University of Applied Sciences, the North Karelia Education Consortium Riveria, Kitee Evangelical Folk High School and Lieksa Christian College.

The target group of the group project is the actors in the region whose field of work includes tasks supporting the training, employment, integration and settlement of international experts. The target group is employees of cities, municipalities, welfare areas, educational institutions, development companies, organizations and service providers, including people working in business services, employment, education and integration work. The target group is also companies and employers in North Karelia interested in recruiting international experts, as well as international students. The indirect target groups of the project are employees coming to Finland from abroad with their families and, broadly speaking, all people with an immigrant background living or staying in North Karelia.

The main goal of the project is to create a regional network-like operating model that guarantees comprehensive services for international experts already in the province and those coming here. The operating model ensures that things are not done on top of each other and that nothing is left undone in promoting employment and integration. The second goal is to develop the capabilities and ability of the province's companies to accept international experts as part of their work communities through service pilots. The activities will lower the recruitment threshold, especially in companies that do not yet have experience in recruiting people with a foreign background.

The sub-projects will develop, among other things, the following: 1) The University of Eastern Finland and Karelia University of Applied Sciences will develop a training package that strengthens expertise in integration work, which meets the competence needs of municipalities and experts, changed structures and legislation, and takes into account the working life framework conditions for learning at work. The personnel of the participating organizations will participate in the co-development, as will the personnel working on immigration work in the cities and municipalities of the province. 2) Karelia University of Applied Sciences and Riveria will develop the competence of the personnel of educational institutions in teaching and guiding international students, introduce Finnish as a second language (S2) for students and support services related to settling in and integration, and intensify network-based cooperation to support the transition of international students from secondary education to higher education. 3) The Kitee and Lieksa colleges develop the inclusion and community of immigrants through language café activities, which are implemented in North Karelia both locally and online. The folk high schools carry out pedagogical development work by mapping and creating learning materials to support practical language skills, taking into account themes of social orientation, especially for groups at risk of exclusion and working immigrants.

The WiNK group project network implements new service experiments and paths and builds cooperation models to respond to the challenges related to the recruitment of companies and the settlement, employment and integration of international experts and immigrants. The development work involves actors whose best expertise is put to use in the recruitment, integration and settlement of international experts.

The project presentation is borrowed from the University of Eastern Finland website .