Finland: Through the looking glass

Do you believe your success comes from hard work or luck? How can decision making in Finland be more inclusive without using Finnish? In this special bonus episode, Denise Wall and Travis Glossop grapple with the relay questions guests asked of one another during Season 1. Listen in and share your thoughts in a review or on our socials. And remember to tell a friend (or more) about FTTLG.

Marketer Rabia Khan left a thriving career in Karachi and Dubai to build a new life in Finland, where she hoped to offer her children independence, safety and serenity. But after initially scooping up a job in just one month, she’s now confronting the harsh realities of Finland’s tough labour market. Join us as Rabia discusses her hopes and challenges, and explains how her toddler has helped her build relationships in a new environment.

What does the theatre world in Finland look like in the eyes of an Englishman who has devoted his career to acting, directing and teaching performance arts? How does theatre in Finland compare to the UK? And more importantly, is there a place for someone like Ally Manson in Finnish theatre? Listen as Manson shares his pursuit of a stage career in Finland and his observations about the local theatre scene.

As far as entrepreneurship goes, the food business isn’t the easiest place to start. But stiff competition and a weak economic climate haven’t fazed Cameroon-born café owner Mikael Malin. Listen as Malin talks about his stumbles, learning moments, and motivation and how he stays positive in a challenging and competitive arena. Subscribe, rate, like and share the podcast and follow FTTLG on Instagram and Facebook.

Confused about how to break into seemingly impenetrable Finnish professional networks? Looking for answers on how to land your dream job and break through the birch ceiling? If you feel you're losing the battle to understand Finnish recruitment and employment practices, don't despair. Listen as People and L&D expert Mark Hayton joins FTTLG to share his understanding of what makes Finns tick both inside and outside the workplace. Subscribe, like, rate and share the podcast and follow FTTLG on Facebook and Instagram.

After eight years building a life in Finland, Sonal Mahkija and her family took a deep breath and resettled in Sweden. It was an opportunity to pursue a career – not just hold down a job – in what felt more like a merit-based labour market. "It wasn't premised on knowing a language fluently other than the language of work. And we know that in Finland, opportunities like this do not really open up or you can't apply for without having any networks," Makhija tells host Denise Wall. Listen to the full story, like rate, share and subscribe to the podcast and join the discussion on Facebook and Instagram.

Is there such as thing as Schrödinger’s immigrant? FTTLG host Denise Wall discusses how she has felt simultaneously invisible yet highly visible as a Caribbean-background resident in Finland. In an extended chat with audio producer Travis Glossop, Wall frankly reveals her motivation for persevering with an unfunded podcast. She also expresses her sense of encouragement at seeing a broad cross section of ordinary Finns unite to push back against the institutionalisation of racism in government.

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After relocating from bustling Paris to significantly quieter and more conservative Seinäjoki in Ostrobothnia, western Finland, Fatima Choaïbi decided to take her fate into her own hands and moved to Helsinki in search of work – and sushi. Fatima soon decided that traditional approaches to the job search weren’t cutting it and she decided to do things “the Latin way”. Her move caught the attention of a Finnish CEO and launched her professional career in Finland. Listen to Fatima’s story of persistence and resilience as told to host Denise Wall.

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How do you find your way after seemingly going from the frying pan into the fire? When radio and podcast professional Travis Glossop left Britain for a new start in Finland, he thought he had escaped the problems that led to the UK’s pivotal vote to leave the EU. He arrived in Helsinki to find a nation riven by controversy and uncertainty as a new right-wing government pushed contentious policies. Listen to Travis’ story in this bonus episode of FTTLG. 

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Starting a business in Finland is easy, but keeping it up and running is another matter altogether. What more needs to be done to help migrant entrepreneurs succeed so that they can employ others and contribute more to the wider economy? Ghana-born auto engineer-turned-skin and hair entrepreneur Edem Agbekey-Taylor shares her story of building the Inkuto Organics brand in Finland.

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Why is it so difficult for foreign jobseekers to find work in Finland? Netherlands-born descriptive communication coach Joppe Quaedvlieg thinks he knows the answer -- and it has nothing to do with polishing your CV. Well, almost nothing! In this episode of FTTLG, he describes his technique for helping jobseekers find meaningful employment -- by first finding themselves. Quaedvlieg also issues a call for an honest discussion about how Finland can secure its economic future with the help of foreign-born talent.

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Web accessibility consultant Azra Tayyebi lost her sight as a young girl in Iran, went on to complete a software engineering degree there and moved to Finland pursue a master’s degree. However her dream to become a developer eluded her. “There were several times where I got past the first step because of my CV and then as soon as they realized that I'm blind, they're like, oh no, this is not going to work. Sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly and just quietly they just left me out. And that was a very hard experience for me.” Listen to her full story in this episode of FTTLG.

Trigger warning: this episode deals with intimate partner violence and may be upsetting for some listeners.

Swedish language integration advocate Allyana Thomas bravely discusses her experiences living in and exiting a relationship overshadowed by violence in our latest episode of Finland: Through the looking glass. “I think the biggest help aside from having a therapist to talk to was being able to go to work. That I had a safe place to go away from my partner,” Thomas says.

Victim Support Finland (RIKU) describes domestic violence as a hidden crime, as violence takes place inside the home, meaning that outsiders are rarely aware of it. Despite being lauded as a paragon of gender equality, various studies have shown that Finland is an unsafe place for women. According to UN Women Finland, one in three women in Finland experiences intimate partner violence during their lifetime, while annually, at least 50,000 are targets of sexual violence.

Organisations mentioned in this episode:

Mieli -  Mental Health Finland Provides crisis support for people living with mental health issues

Omatila – a unit of the Western Uusimaa Uusimaa Wellbeing Services county, that provides support for people experiencing violence in intimate relationships

Naistenlinja – Women’s Line offers services for people identifying as women and girls, and others close to them, experiencing violence and abuse or the threat of violence and abuse 

Nollalinja – providing support and shelter for people living with domestic violence

Riku – Victim Support Finland advocates on behalf of all victims of crime

Migri – the Finnish Immigration Service

Consumers, retailers, importers, producers all want sustainable products, but is anyone really ready to pay the price? "I don't think so," says Brazilian-Israeli food industry entrepreneur Celso Khalili.He adds that many people don't quite understand the multiple facets of sustainable products, especially when it comes to the food we eat. On this episode of FTTLG, we discuss ethical consumption and discover how food fraud undermines sustainability in the sector.

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Comedian Jamie MacDonald joins Finland: Through the looking glass, to share his experiences as a transgender person who transitioned in Finland, his reaction to the passage of new transgender laws, and how he copes with anxiety as a member of a gender and language minority. “The thing that really needs to happen is normalisation. Even though we're a small group, it shouldn't be exceptional that we exist,” he says.

Like, rate, share and subscribe to the podcast, join the discussion on Facebook and Instagram, and listen for the Easter egg at the end - headphones on!

Canadian-born service design entrepreneur Pamela Spokes is our guest on the first episode of Finland: Through the looking glass. A resident of Finland since 2007, she shares insights she's learned from her entrepreneurial journey and ponders a few of the big questions facing Finland: skilled immigration and what Finland could look like in the future, unemployment among the foreign-background community and English as a gateway language to a career in Finland. “It’s better to do the right thing wrong than to do the wrong thing right,” she says of designing services aimed at attracting foreign talent. Like and subscribe to the podcast, and join the discussion on our Facebook page, Finland: Through the looking glass.