New research shows that the majority of Finns view themselves as responsible consumers of alcohol.
Finland’s economy continues to grow, but the amount of job vacancies is still eclipsed by the number of people searching for work. One reason for this imbalance in the Finnish labour market, according to Equal Times, is the changing nature of modern jobs is leaving a large amount of unemployed people with outdated skill sets.
One industry that is doing very well, however, is the gaming sector.
Finland’s indie games companies are becoming bigger and bigger players on the international stage, meaning that some of the country’s major developers are now deciding to go public.
In other news, Finns view themselves as responsible drinkers, the Moomin Museum in Tampere receives international praise, and Sauli Niinistö sends an unusual message of support to Estonia.
What is the solution to Finland’s labour market mismatch? Equal Times
“ While Finland may have struggled to shake off its post-crisis recession, last year the country saw GDP growth of 1.6 per cent, and the trend is forecast to continue this year. In this light, it would be easy to interpret Finland’s labour shortage as a sign of a healthy growing economy.
According to the Ministry for Employment and Economic Affairs, 24 occupations – such as audiologists and speech therapists, dentists, civil engineers and salespeople – are currently affected by a deficit of skilled workers. Last year only 12 occupations were affected.
In April, the Ministry listed 102,300 vacancies but at the same time, over 300,000 people were seeking work – some 11.6 per cent of the workforce.
Arja Haapakorpi, adjunct professor at the University of Helsinki, outlines several reasons for the problem. Firstly, the nature of work has changed: "The everyman’s job market has disappeared. In the 1980s there were still jobs that only required basic education, such as cleaning and work in logistics and harbours.” Nowadays, this kind of work is usually part-time and increasingly precarious. ”
Original article was published by on 13/07/2017 and can be found here.
Niinistö: In case of war, we’d send Estonia more than ‘rice and potatoes’ ERR (Estonia Public Broadcasting)
“ In an open question round in the city of Pori on Wednesday, Finnish president Sauli Niinistö faced the question of whether or not Finland would come to Estonia’s aid in case the latter was attacked.
Niinistö said he doubted that military conflict in the Baltic states would be entirely local. “If there’s war in that area, there is war somewhere else as well. Then we’re already talking about a big war. If Russia and NATO go to war, they won’t limit themselves to Estonia or the Baltic states. But of course we’re helping Estonia already,” he said.
In his somewhat noncommittal answer, the president didn’t specify what kind of help this would be in the case of war, but he did say that Finland’s aid would not be limited to “sending over rice and potatoes.” ”
Original article was published by on 13/07/2017 and can be found here.
The Finnish game development sector is on fire Business Insider Nordic
“ Finland has long roots in indie game development and given the country's size, a surprisingly high amount of big well-known hits are associated with the country: Angry Birds, Max Payne, Cities Skylines, Legend of Grimrock and the FlatOut series all come from Finnish developers. It wasn't long ago there wasn't a single Finnish game developer listed on the stock market – now there are three. Gaming companies are currently hiring everyone with real talent in sight. The whole sector seems to be on fire.
Nitro Games, Next Games and Remedy Entertainment all went public this year as yet more companies are considering a similar move due to lofty market valuations, providing some long-time owners with an exit as well as raising a significant chunk of capital.
One thing that has been propping up the availability of quality talent are game jams. A worldwide phenomenon, game jams are events where people gather for the purpose of planning, designing, and creating one or more games within a short span of time, usually ranging between 24 and 72 hours, sometimes with additional artificial limitations to increase the challenge. ”
Original article was published by on 10/07/2017 and can be found here.
Finns view drinking culture as ‘responsible’ The Spirits Business
“ The majority of Finns view themselves as “responsible” consumers of alcohol, and see the overall drinking culture as “developing in a responsible direction”, research from Finnish drinks group Altia shows.
Commissioned by Altia, YouGov surveyed 1,010 Finns over the age of 18.
While 57% said they completely agreed that they were a responsible consumer of alcohol and 30% said they somewhat agreed, only 14% thought that their compatriots were as responsible with their drinking habits.
70% said they at least somewhat agreed that drunkenness is less socially acceptable today than in the past, while two-thirds (67%) said they at least somewhat agreed that drinking culture among young people was more responsible now than for previous generations. ”
Original article was published by on 10/07/2017 and can be found here.
Moomintrolls: Inside the world’s first Moomin museum The Independent
“ I’m standing in a giant Hobgoblin’s hat, watching horns shoot from the side of my silhouetted head. Seconds earlier, a heart-shaped flower spiralled up from my crown. Ardent Moomin fans will recognise the scene from Finn Family Moomintroll, the third of Tove Jansson’s books about the Moomin family – and the first to be published in English.
Outside the hat, it sounds as though bombs are whistling past. I have entered the mysterious world of Moominvalley, home to the Moomintrolls and their gaggle of fantastical friends. It’s been recreated in the world’s first Moomin Museum, which opened last month in the bowels of a congress centre in Tampere, Finland’s third largest city. ”
Original article was published by on 13/07/2017 and can be found here.
