At our latest Wonderland Waffle Wednesday speaker event, we heard about the services the City of Espoo offers to employers. Here’s a summary of the key points shared by Espoo’s specialists, Anssi Heimonen and Minna Honkanen, in their talk for employers.

Espoo’s employer solutions team helps companies find new employees – completely free of charge. The service saves companies time especially in the early stages of recruitment: instead of having to go through hundreds of applications, you get a ready-made, pre-screened shortlist. In practice, it works much like a commercial recruitment agency: the team searches for suitable candidates based on the criteria you provide, pre-interviews them, and narrows the pool down to the best fits.

What do you get?

• Free candidate search – saves time, since instead of hundreds of applications you get a pre-screened shortlist
• Fast process – within about 2 weeks you get 3–5 pre-interviewed candidates ready for you to interview directly
• Hidden job opening option – the search can be done without a public job listing
• Other solutions as needed – interns, seasonal workers, training collaborations (e.g. with Omnia and Aalto University)
• Recruitment events – the city handles all the arrangements; the company just brings its own visibility
• General business advice through the Business Espoo network, for example on internationalization or change situations

Who is this service for?

Candidates are sourced from the Job Market (Työmarkkinatori) – i.e. from among unemployed and laid-off jobseekers – not poached from competitors, as is often the case with commercial recruiters. The service is aimed especially at SMEs for whom an expensive executive search service isn’t an option. The team doesn’t see itself as a competitor to commercial recruitment companies, but rather as a partner.

“We try to focus more on making sure the employment rate among these existing candidates is as high as possible.”

The service has received good feedback from companies including Ecosir and Ivone, who have particularly praised its speed and well-targeted candidates.

Financial support, in brief

• Youth recruitment subsidy: 50% of gross salary, up to €1,500, for unemployed jobseekers under 30
• Espoo recruitment subsidy: a one-time €5,000 payment, requiring at least a 12-month employment contract
• Standard pay subsidy: 50–70% of salary costs (up to 100% for associations and foundations)
• Pay subsidy for those aged 55+: 70%, up to €1,770/month, for a maximum of 10 months
• Workplace adaptation subsidy: up to €4,000, plus €20/hour for an assisting employee

⚠️ All subsidies are discretionary and are not an entitlement. They must be applied for before the employment relationship begins, at least about two weeks in advance.

How to get started

Espoo’s employer solutions team has ten people, and the team is happy to visit companies with a low threshold for reaching out. You can contact the team directly, book a time through Business Espoo, or call the employer advisory line – they can help with much more than just recruitment.