The pilot, comprising ten International Vouchers, is being implemented as part of the joint Internship Kickstart campaign by International House Tampere, Tampere university and University of Applied Sciences (TAMK).
– It is important for Tampere that the skills and expertise of international students studying here find their way into local companies. The International Voucher is a concrete pilot that helps bring companies and students together and strengthens talent retention in the region, says Deputy Mayor Jaakko Mustakallio.
The International Voucher aims to lower the threshold for international students to gain their first work experience in their field in Finland. International students do not always have the same starting point as students who have lived in Finland for longer when it comes to accessing Finnish professional networks and their first internship opportunities.
Employers select the interns and make recruitment decisions based on their own needs. The pilot will monitor whether the voucher helps create new internship opportunities and connections to working life, and whether the expertise of international students already in Tampere can be put to better use by employers.
The International Voucher has been developed by International House Tampere in cooperation with the Tampere university and University of Applied Sciences (TAMK) and other cities. A similar International Voucher model was first piloted in Lappeenranta, and similar forms of support have also been developed or piloted in Helsinki, Turku and Joensuu. The results of the Tampere pilot will be evaluated before any decisions are made on continuing the model or introducing it more widely.
The Internship Kickstart campaign supports employers in reaching international students and starting internship and thesis cooperation. The International Voucher complements the campaign by providing financial support that lowers the threshold for employers to hire an international student for an internship.
