Healthcare Staffing Solutions, owned by Mehiläinen, and Sataedu have developed a new kind of training model that will be used in the international recruitment of nurses.
Mehiläinen’s Healthcare Staffing Solutions (HSS) and Sataedu will begin cooperating in training with the goal of tackling the problem of the growing staffing needs in care homes. The training model makes it possible to recruit and train social and health care professionals and bring them to Finland from anywhere in the world. A key part of the model is the digital training platform developed by HSS. The first participants to start receiving the training are from the Philippines.
Mehiläinen’s Finnish subsidiary HSS and Sataedu, an upper secondary education institution in Satakunta offering practical nurse training as well as other training, are working together to tackle the challenges related to workforce availability in Finland’s social and health care sector.
- “We will work to meet the staffing needs of care homes. More skilled professionals are needed in Finland in order for us to offer high-quality care for the elderly in the future when the baby boomer generation ages and the number of people needing assistance grows. It is already difficult to recruit staff in Finland, and it is not easy for nurses coming from outside the EU and the EEA to find work that matches their training,” says Tatu Tulokas, Mehiläinen’s CHRO.
- “Sataedu is known as a provider of high-quality training in the social and health care field. We have received good feedback on the quality of our practical nurse training, which is ensured by our highly skilled teaching staff. The shortage of nurses in care homes is already a reality and, at Sataedu, we want to be part of training new professionals for the sector. This allows us to do our part in ensuring that the quality of care for the elderly in Finland remains high,” says Heli Sulkava, Sataedu’s Education Manager for the Wellbeing field.
The digital training platform has international potential
In HSS and Sataedu’s training model, participants study Finnish and acquire the knowledge and skills needed for a practical nursing qualification in their country of origin using a new kind of digital learning platform.
- “The training platform was developed by HSS and we see big potential for growth in it – also internationally,” says Mehiläinen’s Tulokas.
Once the participants arrive in Finland, they will train as nursing assistants and can work in that role. The participants are given the opportunity to study further in order to qualify as a practical nurse – for example, at Sataedu. After graduation, the participants will work in Finland as social and health care professionals. Finnish collective agreements will apply to the participants’ employment relationships. The language training part of the training model has already begun. Most of those who have started doing the language training are from the Philippines.
- “Mehiläinen will offer a job in Finland to those who complete the training. We already have good experiences with professionals who have come from abroad and, with our training model, we can ensure that the training is appropriate. This is one additional way of ensuring that there will be enough skilled social and health care professionals in the future. Our goal is to also offer staff to municipalities as well as other private companies,” says Tulokas.
- “Securing the supply of skilled staff is also important for us. We have successfully worked together with Mehiläinen for a long time, and this new training model is a natural continuation of that. We want to work together with Mehiläinen to further develop nursing training. Sataedu has plenty of experience of international students. What is special about our high-quality training is that many times during studies and before the students start working, we ensure that their Finnish language skills are sufficient,” says Anne Laine, the Principal of Sataedu.
The training model enables responsible and sustainable recruitment. The model does not include any intermediaries and the training is free of charge. The digital learning environment offers a safe way to study also during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Heathcare Staffing Solutions Oy (HSS) is Mehiläinen’s wholly owned Finnish subsidiary that recruits and trains staff for the needs of the health care sector in cooperation with its partners. One of the company’s goals is to ensure Mehiläinen’s supply of staff through a transparent international recruitment and training process.
The Satakunta Educational Federation provides upper secondary vocational education and training under the name Sataedu. Sataedu operates locally, nationally and internationally. Sataedu, which operates in nine municipalities, has nearly 5,000 students and about 300 members of staff.