"Education must begin regardless of the level of Finnish language," believes Ritva Viljanen, mayor of the city of Vantaa
As yle.fi notes, immigrants are an important labor reserve for large cities, and authorities are interested in their rapid employment. "The most important thing is to give immigrants the opportunity to get an education faster. If Finnish is not yet progressing, you can start studying, for example, in English," says the mayor of Vantaa, Ritva Viljanen.
Bahar Mosaffari, who moved to Finland ten years ago, supports the idea. She herself wanted to get a job quickly, but had to spend a lot of time following the slow path of the Finnish integration system. Now she helps other immigrants find employment.
"My knowledge of Finnish was not perfect and still isn't, but I manage. Therefore, we cannot wait for people to first master the language and then go to work," says Mosaffari.
The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Education allocated 5 million euros this week to five municipalities for centralized training of immigrants. The municipalities hope that the funding will not be a one-time event but will become permanent.
"We need to stop thinking that immigration is a temporary project. All new integration models and their funding are time-limited. Immigration is an important phenomenon for Finland, as we need a capable workforce and we need multiculturalism and internationalism in this country. Therefore, long-term schemes for receiving foreigners and their rapid adaptation to Finnish society are needed," says the mayor of Vantaa.