Vacancy surge in Finland: 50,000 immigrants required per year

Helsinki: According to the Finland tech industry report, 50,000 immigrants are required per year for next 28 years in the country to fill the job vacancies arising due to ageing population.

Technology Finland said on Wednesday that the industry alone, the most significant export sector in Finland, will need 1,30,000 new experts in the next 10 years, reports Xinhua news agency.

Only half of these will replace retirees, meaning there will be tens of thousands of job vacancies in the export industry in the next ten years.

"Finland is getting older and more indebted, and our economical maintenance relationship is turning upside down," said Jaakko Eskola, chairman of Technology Finland, an association of around 1,800 tech industry companies.

If Finland does not have enough working-age people, the welfare state will not be maintained, Eskola said. Therefore, he added, the only option is to significantly increase immigration.

"The country must therefore build a successful long-term immigration policy," He said.

However, Eskola pointed out the need for raising the skill level of young people, especially in the fields of information and communication technology, as immigration alone will not solve all Finland's challenges.

-IANS with Inputs