ANCHOR - Anchoring Career Support in Working Life

Background and goals

The aim of the project is to create new concepts and models to improve pathways to work for international students, recent graduates and alumni of Finnish universities of applied sciences in the capital region, as well as SIMHE-customers (Supporting Immigrants in Higher Education). The members of the target group are among those who have weak ties to the local working life, which in turn can lead to them not graduating due to uncompleted compulsory internships or thesis assignments, or to them leaving the country after graduation due to a lack of jobs and thus residence permits. Participants in the project are employers and service providers such as municipalities, universities of applied sciences and labour market organisations that promote employment, integration and labour market participation of international students and alumni, as well as SIMHE-customers.

The project webpage can be found at https://www.arcada.fi/en/cooperation-an….

Objectives and benefits

The project creates local, dynamic experiments as cross-sectoral support for employment. The experiments include the development and testing of a new Working Life Advisor role to support both international students and employers, and the development of career support combined with intrapreneurship for international students, alumni and SIMHE-customers who have previous degrees and work experience. It is of great importance to provide support for these client groups and their urgent employment needs, including the identification and recognition of their skills and experience in cooperation with the business community. The solutions created in the project can be adapted to other universities of applied sciences and contribute to the region's access to skilled labour and increased diversity in working life.

Societal impact

The municipalities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa and the Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce support the project application and its realisation.