Today, Enterprise Estonia entered into a memorandum of understanding with Mainor AS, pursuant to which they will begin cooperation for creating a service centre in the Ülemiste City campus, directed at foreign specialists arriving in Estonia. 

Under the leadership and with the participation of Mainor AS, and in cooperation with Enterprise Estonia’s foreign specialist involvement programme Work in Estonia (WiE), they will develop a cooperation project for an International House. It is planned to open the International House in the autumn of 2018. The purpose of the International House is to be a one-stop-shop for necessary information and services for foreign specialists, so that they can acclimate more smoothly in Estonia. WiE participates in the International House project as an advisor in developing the services and by involving other public institutions in the future. 

According to Chairman of the Management Board of Enterprise Estonia, Alo Ivask, the local entrepreneurs and the specialists who have arrived from abroad have pointed out that there’s a major need for such a central, English-speaking centre. ‘We are very glad that Mainor AS has come out with the initiative to create an English-speaking service centre for foreign specialists and that this solution will be built in cooperation with Enterprise Estonia. At the beginning of next year, an expert from the WiE team will also begin work at the International House project,’ said Ivask. ‘While so far, people who arrive to work in Estonia have had to visit different institutions and look for information from many channels to perform all legal procedures, hopefully, it will soon be possible to conduct all necessary tasks at the same location,’ he added.  

According to Ivask, attracting foreign talents to Estonia is an important priority for the State, on which an ICT development programme to be started next year will also focus. ‘We are competing over foreign ICT specialists with many other countries, worldwide, which is why we need to have a comprehensive approach to all fields, also those concerning the top specialist foreigner’s journey to and acclimation in the country,’ he added. 

‘At Mainor, we have dealt with questions concerning foreign labour since 2013, and by communicating with several employers and getting acquainted with examples from different countries, we have understood that such a service centre is crucial to be even a little bit more successful in the worldwide race for talent,’ said Chairman of the Management Board of Mainor AS, Kadi Pärnits.  According to Chairman of the Management Board of Mainor Ülemiste AS, Margus Nõlvak, Ülemiste City is the best place to open such a service centre. ‘Ülemiste City  is the largest business campus in the Baltics where numerous foreign enterprises have gathered, which are particularly important for Estonia so that the economy grows, jobs are created, and that local specialists are able to exchange knowledge with experts working at foreign companies and cooperate with them,’ said Margus Nõlvak. ‘Establishing the International House will significantly improve the value proposition for foreign labour, which will certainly provide a strong background of us becoming an active attractor instead of a passive receiver,’ Nõlvak added. 

In its activity, Enterprise Estonia’s foreign specialist involvement programme Work in Estonia focuses on helping companies hire ICT specialists, attracting foreign labour more efficiently to Estonia, and offering suitable (e-)services to all specialists. WiE’s activities are guided by the instructions received from the ICT development programme. In addition to participating in the International House project, WiE’s action plan focuses on the goals outlined for 2017–2020, which include attracting 2000 top ICT specialists to Estonia by the end of 2020 to decrease the immense demand; starting with the foreign recruitment unit in 2018; advising the top specialists of companies and their family members; mapping the problem areas of employers and foreign talent; increasing the customer base of companies recruiting foreign talent, and conducting marketing campaigns abroad.