Suomen Mentorit is excited to announce a call for applications for a brand-new mentoring pilot coming up in autumn 2025!  

Despite shortages of skilled workers in certain fields, such as technology and healthcare, potential employees still face challenges in finding jobs. This is particularly applicable to international talents, who often experience additional hurdles when trying to find a job in Finland. Therefore, the upcoming mentoring pilot programme will be targeted at international students studying technology in Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences. 

Through this pilot programme, around 25 international talents will receive one-to-one mentoring from an experienced professional, focusing particularly on topics such as finding a job, an internship, or a placement for master’s thesis. This programme aims to ease the process of settling into the Finnish job market by helping participants find attractive career opportunities -and being one step closer to build a long-term future in Finland.  

Who is this programme for? 

Mentoring offers a valuable way to support integration into the Finnish job market by enabling in-depth discussions with an experienced professional familiar with Finnish working life. The pilot programme focuses on master students in the field of technology and ICT either in a Finnish university or university of applied sciences. Mentees should be in their 2nd or final year of their Master studies, and keen to find career opportunities in Finland. 

Suomen Mentorit welcomes mentee and mentor applications until 15th of August 2025.  

Mentees 

We are looking for mentees with the following profiles:   

  • 2nd or final year master’s student in technology or ICT in a Finnish university or university of applied sciences, or graduated in the field within a year 
  • Keen on receiving career advice from an experienced professional 
  • Currently searching for a thesis position, or a job matching the education 
  • Interest in building a career and life in Finland 
  • Availability to commit for 4 mentoring meetings (ca. 1,5h per meeting, once per month) between September and December 2025. 

In this mentoring programme, the mentees will be matched with a mentor for one-to-one meetings, with a minimum of four meetings in total. The programme offers support and confidence for the job search, as well as guidance for career planning and building a career path in Finland. This will be supported by diverse tools, such as for identifying personal strengths and articulating competences clearly. Additionally, the programme facilitates the creation of professional networks through networking. 

Mentors 

To contribute as a mentor in the programme, the following shall be considered: 

  • Availability to commit for 4 mentoring meetings (ca. 1,5h per meeting, once per month) between September and December 2025. 
  • Interest in the field of technology or ICT may be an asset, but is not a must – for mentoring, willingness to help an international talent is the key! 
  • Genuine willingness to help and support younger international professionals in self-employment, entrepreneurship and solving working life issues. 
  • The programme provides a meaningful volunteer work and an opportunity to learn from younger professionals. 

The mentoring programme offers a chance to be paired with a mentee, with whom at least four meetings will be arranged by mutual agreement. It provides an opportunity to learn from a younger international talent and to broaden perspectives. The programme also enables the sharing of experiences, knowledge, and skills to support the mentee’s development. In addition, it includes valuable networking opportunities. 

The pilot programme is to be launched in autumn 2025 

The programme will run from September until December 2025 and during these months the mentoring pairs shall meet at least four times. Besides the one-to-one meetings, the programme has three complementary events:  

  • 15th of September: Kick-Off event of the programme (Teams) 
  • 29th of October: an in-person midterm event (live, Helsinki)
  • 17th of December: the official closure of the programme (Teams) 

A joint project of Finnish organisations 

The programme is supported by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra, YTK Worklife, and Technology Industries of Finland. Further collaboration partners are Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) and Boardman Advisors. 

For further information, please contact:  

Mari Pollari  
Executive Director
Suomen Mentorit
mari.pollari (at) suomenmentorit.fi