EASWork project wraps up with final seminar

The final seminar for the EASWork project (Equal Access and Support in the Workforce for migrants and refugees) took place on February 26 in Helsinki. It was an opportunity to present the results of the EASWork project and discuss how companies in Finland and Estonia can benefit from more inclusive employment practices - helping Finnish and Estonian employers to attract and retain refugees, migrants, and foreign workers. In an era where diversity initiatives face increasing pushback globally, this event highlighted the proactive steps being taken in these two countries. The seminar featured insights from researchers, industry leaders, and company representatives who shared their experiences in building more inclusive workplaces.

The overall objective of the EASWork project was to collaborate with organizations in Finland and Estonia that often hire the largest amount of foreign workers to understand what their current anti-discrimination policies are, and how these can and need to be improved to support migrant and refugee workers in the current and future context of diversifying work forces. To do this the project first focused on identifying barriers that foreign workers face in the labor markets of Estonia and Finland. Through interviews with migrants the project developed an extensive report with policy recommendations and best practices for fostering workplace inclusion, which was also discussed in the collaborations with the Estonian and Finnish organizations.

The seminar presented key findings from project’s research report “Breaking Barriers – Inclusive Employment Practices for Refugees and Migrants in Finland and Estonia”, showcased examples of companies that have successfully implemented inclusive strategies and new anti-discriminatory policies, as well as discussed challenges that other companies have faced on this journey. This report can serve as a valuable resource for organizations looking to improve their DEI policies.

While EASWork in its current form is concluding, the hope is its results will contribute to ongoing discussions and future initiatives on workplace inclusion in Estonia and Finland. Additionally, the project team encourages companies to engage with the findings and reach out for collaboration on implementing best practices.

The EASWork project is a partnership between Arcada University of Applied Sciences (Finland), the Deaconess Foundation (Finland), and the University of Tartu (Estonia). The project is co-funded by the European Union through the Interreg Programme.

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