Leadership and Labor Law in the Finnish work environment

Amongst the most popular courses this collaboration had to offer, was the Leadership and Labor Law in the Finnish work environment course. Even though the course was held in easy Finnish, most of the attendees were young professionals with a foreign background looking to improve their managerial skills and knowledge of Finnish Labour Law.

One of the attendees who found the course useful was Dominika Kowalczyk. She is working as a Recruiter for Barona. "I am responsible of international recruitment, for both candidates already living in Finland or who are applying for work from EU & non-EU countries. Candidate relocation is part of my work, hence I’m constantly meeting new people with international experience who have moved to Finland. Some of the very useful points of the course, were getting an update concerning legislation, as well as having to choose from interesting topics for the individual project. This course game me time and opportunity to gather thoughts and share opinions upon the specific matters.

As a big benefit of attending this course was having a chance to discuss with my colleges about their professional experience and how they see the working life in Finland compared to their home country working culture. Another big benefit for me, was to listen to the lectures in Finnish, but at the same time having possibility to ask questions in English or having both languages used within discussion. Having the freedom to choose English to complete projects was also a big plus."

Besides the attractive Finnish work-life balance, equality at work is something Dominika has expanded her knowledge of and can easily advertise abroad when attracting foreign professionals to Finland.

Working within Recruiting demands having knowledge of the Finnish Labour Law and rules of collective boarding agreements, so attending the lectures refreshed my memory on these topics. This course gave me the opportunity to brush up on my Finnish Labour Law knowledge while listening to expert advice and getting useful materials. I have very much enjoyed discussing various topics with my group colleges. I have broadened my knowledge and updated my management skills due to the research required for the final project. So overall, I strongly recommend attending this course to anyone interested in life-long learning. said Dominika.

Another professional who has attended the Asiantuntijasta Manageriksi course is Luca Broda, a project engineer working for AFRY. He appreciated the freedom he had when choosing the topic he later researched, as well as presenting it. "I had spent a lot of time researching the material provided by the professor and additional material found online. By doing so, I found out that learning is easier this way than opening a book. I enjoyed the freedom to discuss and share our own opinion during the lecture. By doing so, we learn more from each other and understand the differences we experience at work."

Learning about management and leadership is something he has enjoyed. In each class there was a different topic presented by a professional in the field. Beside learning all the legislation, one of the benefits that I personally experienced, was understanding leadership and identifying what are the characteristics of a good leader.

He will use some of the insights of this course by applying them to his daily job, especially when it comes to positive psychology and self-management.

Our working life is not limited to only our field of study, but requires a wider view on the human and social interactions. Another important thing for anyone who is considering becoming a manager in the future, is mastering the Finnish labor legislation; even though it’s quite long, it’s a very interesting read.

Just like Dominika, he is also recommending this course to others in similar managerial roles to his. "The lectures was very interesting and the professor helpful considering that I do not speak good Finnish" added Luca.

According to the Senior Lecturer who led the course, Riitta Dincay, even though the group was heterogeneous in many ways, when everyone is highly educated and motivated, it doesn’t  matter.

"There were big differences in proficiency in Finnish, as well as in English. We used both languages and it worked well, all the participants understood each other, the conversations and the lecturers."

As expected, the course was a multicultural and diverse circle, an environment where "the discussion was enriched by the fact that all participants were from different countries and spoke a different language as their mother tongue. It was a really great thing from the educator's point of view", confessed Riitta. Also, another plus of the group was the fact that "everyone was in working life in Finland, different sectors, with some participants from the same companies, which created a good and equal starting point for discussions. "

Maintaining schedules with work and following the official Corona guidelines for safety, were some of the challenges that arose within the group, and adapting to the new, hybrid way of doing things, "had some effect on the discussions and opportunities to participate, according to the lecturer." Using Laurea’s Canvas program posed challenges for some of the participants, so a lot of tasks were returned via email. In the following implementations we will use only Canvas, specified Riitta. ´´

Unanimously, the overall feedback mentioned the good topics and schedule, with an emphasis on discussions and group assignments, and as expected, excellent speakers.

For anyone looking to expand their knowledge on Finnish Labour Law or to improve their managerial skills, the Leadership and Labor Law in the Finnish work environment course will be held again in the Spring, the registration period is now open until mid-February.