Herizon Impact Newsletter 10/2024

Fueling Finland's future - where talent meets opportunity, cities jump in, and interns find their match!

Herizon Impact Newsletter 10/2024

As we advance into November, we’re excited to share updates on our journey to build a diverse and inclusive tech ecosystem. This month’s focus has been on enhancing our internship program, deepening city partnerships, and supporting our members’ job search with new product features. Thank you for being a part of this journey with us!

KPIs

  • Community members: Now at 1326, up from 1164 last month [Goal 2024: 2000]
  • Employed members: Reached 491, up from 449 last month
  • New jobs in 2024: 254 members have secured employment this year [Goal 2024: 200]
  • Economic impact:
    • New jobs: Contributing to €762,000 in monthly salaries [Goal 2024: €600,000]
    • Total employment: Contributing to €1.47 million in monthly salaries, up from €1.3 million

Read more about our goals


News

  • Event season in full swing: October has been bustling with community events, including company visits, networking sessions, and workshops that bring members closer to the Finnish work environment.
  • Software-based matching for the internship cohort 3: Our third internship cohort is now matched through a software-based system, enhancing the alignment between companies and interns and creating a scalable onboarding experience.
  • Success-fee employment programs: We’ve officially launched success-fee-based employment partnerships with four cities in Finland, marking a new phase in our support for international talent.

Employment

The Finnish job market for international talent is growing, especially in tech, healthcare, and engineering, with strong demand in cities like Helsinki, Tampere, and Oulu.

To help bridge this gap, our internship program now uses a matching system that pairs companies with suitable candidates based on specific needs. This process gives both companies and interns a more direct path to meaningful roles and smoother employment transitions.

Success Stories: Raymond Nesiama & Junction
Raymond Nesiama from LAB generated 500 leads for Junction, the host of Europe’s leading hackathon, and got hired immediately after his internship.

Our internship program recently celebrated a success story with Raymond Nesiama, who became the first participant to secure a job right after completing his internship. Through our University of Applied Sciences initiative, Raymond was matched with a company, making a smooth transition into his new role. His experience highlights how our approach connects international talent with real job opportunities in Finland.

Read more about Raymond's inspiring experience here.

Recent placements: Our members have recently been hired by companies such as Exquance Software, Metso, Yellow Method, Basware, Nordea, RELEX Solutions, Ahola Transport, DataCrunch and ABB. They’ve taken on diverse roles including Content Specialist, Project Admin, Talent Acquisition Specialist and Frontend Developer.

Our community members are increasingly exploring freelancing opportunities. To support this shift, Herizon is actively seeking partnerships with service providers to make the transition into freelancing smoother and more accessible for our members.

If you are looking for diverse talent, we encourage you to try our success-fee-based headhunting service. Contact us.


Events and Community

  • Talent Community: 13% MoM growth keeping the growth rate above 10%.
  • Herizon Telegram: 880 members.
  • Herizon Discord: 1060 members.
  • LinkedIn: 4856 followers.
  • Newsletters: 1739 subscribers.

Our community members have had opportunities to visit companies such as Reaktor Creative, Advanced B2B, and Metacore this month. These visits provide valuable insights into Finnish workplaces and culture, a feature our members find highly beneficial. Additional visits are planned for the coming months to further support community engagement.

See images below:

Looking ahead, along with our weekly activities for community members, we’re preparing for several exciting events, including company visits and collaborative projects:

  • Weekly co-working hours: Continuing until late December.
  • Finnish speaking sessions: Continuing until late December.
  • Online networking and co-working coffee: Weekly sessions to facilitate connections.
  • Company visits: New company visits are in the pipeline. You can find the upcoming ones in the Herizon Talent Community.

If you know international talents that would benefit from our community support, feel free to share the link: https://herizon.io/talent.


Product

Software updates

We released a significant update to our Job Application Assistant, completely restructuring the application template. New suggested sections and screenshots make it more user-friendly and better aligned with employer expectations, enhancing our members' chances of success.

Job Application Assistant update: Multi-lingual analysis of the job ad.
Job Application Assistant update: Sectional job application builder.

University of Applied Sciences Internships

We launched a new cohort for the University of Applied Sciences internship program this month, featuring software-based matching of interns with companies for the first time. Improvements based on early feedback are underway for the next cohort, scheduled for late November or early December.

Success-fee based employment partnerships

We have launched a success-fee-based employment partnership with 4 cities across Finland. This initiative has officially begun, focusing on expanding support for international talent integration and strengthening collaborations with public sector partners.

Read more in Finnish about our public sector services.


Thank you for being part of this incredible journey toward a more inclusive and diverse tech ecosystem. Your support helps us continue to grow and create opportunities for international talents across the Nordics.

Stay tuned for more updates, success stories, and ways to get involved in the coming months!

Warm regards,
Mari, Viivi, Sini, Martti, Sofi, Daria and Juhani,
The Herizon Team 💜