Herizon Impact Newsletter 11/2024

As we close out the year, Herizon celebrates key milestones: growing our community by over 200 members per month for the first time, placing over 100 university interns for the last cohort of the year, and driving employment in a thriving job market. With remarkable achievements like Viivi Marttinen winning the Nordic Women in Tech Social Impact Award, our network continues to create meaningful change for international talent in Finland.

KPIs

• Community members: Now at 1571, up from 1326 last month [Goal 2024: 2000]
• Employed members: Reached 533, up from 491 last month
• New jobs in 2024: 296 members have secured employment this year [Goal 2024: 200]
• Economic impact:
  • New jobs: Contributing to €888,000 in monthly salaries [Goal 2024: €600,000]
  • Total employment: Contributing to €1.59 million in monthly salaries, up from €1.47 million

Read more about our goals

News

• University of Applied Sciences success: Herizon’s internship program is thriving, with automated matching helping over 100 students find placements in diverse roles we're more than ready to scale this program. With five schools already confirmed for 2025, the program is set to expand further next year.
• Community growth milestones: For the first time, Herizon’s community is growing by over 200 new members per month, highlighting the increasing demand for opportunities and support among international talent.
• Award-winning impact: Our Head of Talent and Community Viivi Marttinen has been honored with the Nordic Women in Tech Social Impact Award for her exceptional contributions to society through empowering underrepresented individuals and fostering positive change.

Employment

The job market continues to improve, offering stronger opportunities for international talent. Employers value professional networks and LinkedIn activity, making them important channels for identifying suitable positions that align with Herizon’s community members’ skill sets.

These conditions support consistent progress, linking qualified individuals to roles that encourage professional development and contribute to overall economic growth. As opportunities expand, community members are finding more pathways to meaningful employment, reflecting a robust and dynamic environment.

Recent placements: Our members have recently been hired by companies such as Ultrahack, DataCrunch, Calori, Emmy Clothing Company, Skanio and Insight Impact. They’ve taken on diverse responsibilities, including business development, project management, research assistance, operations coordination, and technical specialization.

Events and Community

• Talent Community: 16% MoM growth keeping the growth rate above 10%.
• Herizon Telegram: 929 members.
• Herizon Discord: 1060 members.
• LinkedIn: 5107 followers.
• Newsletters: 2005 subscribers.

Strength in numbers

For the first time, Herizon’s community is growing at a pace of over 200+ new members per month, which is a big milestone in expanding our reach and impact. This surge reflects the value and support our network provides to individuals seeking opportunities and growth in Finland.

In 2024, we’ve hosted 28 partnership events, including company visits, event representation, and hands-on workshops. These collaborations connect our community with industry leaders and work culture in Finland, and also provide real-world insights and opportunities for professional growth.

On a broader scale, the Herizon community has participated in 140+ community-driven events. These include LinkedIn bootcamps, networking sessions, and practical Finnish language exercises, fostering professional and personal development across diverse member groups.

Key partnerships

This year, we’ve partnered with a dynamic mix of organizations across industries. Here’s a glimpse of some key collaborators:

• Slush LinkedIn Bootcamp
• Metacore, One Click LCA, Elisa DES, Reaktor Creative, Advance B2B, Supermetrics
• HIVE Helsinki, Epicenter, Virittämö AI Job Search
• Auroras LinkedIn Workshops, Espoo Career Bootcamps, Hello Espoo

Looking ahead, we’ve upcoming partnerships for 2025 with IQM, ReOrbit, Moomin Characters, and Yousician, promising even greater opportunities and value for our community.

We'll be continuing our usual community activities until Christmas:

• 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

• Automated assessments: Our AI now creates tailored tasks for internship placements and automatically analyzes them to match interns with roles that align with their skills.

• Streamlined matching: The team actively monitored and refined the matching process during the last cohort, successfully coordinating over 100 placements.

• Job market analytics scraper: Development has started on a job market analytics scraper, set to launch in 2025, to provide deeper insights into employment trends and opportunities. Join the waiting list at Tyomarkkinadata.fi.

HIP - Herizon Internship Program - University of Applied Sciences Internships

The latest cohort of our University of Applied Sciences Internship Program is in full swing, marking significant progress in matching talent with opportunities. With over 100 job placements offered for 85 interns, demand surged, and we successfully matched all business interns within the first day of the process.

Our matching system has undergone a transformative upgrade, now leveraging nearly complete automation for efficiency and scalability. This is complemented by a newly implemented AI-driven assessment and analysis feature that evaluates alignment between job roles and candidates. These enhancements will improve fit quality, ensuring both companies and interns experience a more tailored and productive engagement.

Looking ahead to 2025, five schools have already committed to participating in the program throughout the year. We are in the final stages of securing agreements with additional institutions, positioning the program for expanded reach and impact in the coming year.

We look forward to offering the program for at least 600 international students in 2025.

FiWO - Find Work Pilot - Success-fee based employment partnerships

The FiWO Pilot 2024 is off to a strong start, with a total of 76 participants confirmed so far, and a few additional late entries expected to bring the final count to around 76-80 individuals. This program is designed to empower participants through targeted employment pathways, creating measurable impact for both individuals and partner cities.

The program is structured into two cohorts:

• November Cohort: Currently hosting 26 participants.
• December Cohort: Preparing to onboard 50 participants.

Participating cities include Vantaa, Riihimäki, Lahti, and Tampere, each contributing to the program’s vision of connecting talent with opportunities through a scalable, results-driven model.

This success-fee-based approach aligns incentives and ensures value for all stakeholders, making FiWO a blueprint for results-driven collaboration between cities and employment-focused initiatives.

Read more about our public sector services in Finnish.

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 and Daria,
The Herizon Team 💜