Seven top companies that employ thousands of people in Estonia and recruit foreign specialists, gathered yesterday at Ülemiste City, to get acquainted with the services of the International House of Estonia which will be opened in ten days.

One of the authors of the idea for and the developers of the concept of the International House, Chairman of the Management Board of AS Mainor, Kadi Pärnits, said that the International House of Estonia, a product of the cooperation of Enterprise Estonia, ministries, the City of Tallinn and national bodies, provides access to information, consultation and services at a single location, supporting a smoother settling in Estonia and acclimatisation here.

‘The purpose of the International House is to be a unified service centre for foreigners, especially foreign specialists and their family members, but also for companies engaged in foreign recruitment, and for people returning to Estonia,’ clarified the Head of the International House Annely Tank on the necessity of the service centre, created through cooperation of the private and public sector at the Ülemiste campus. 

Yesterday, at Mainor’s invitation, representatives from companies engaged in foreign recruitment, such as Kühne+Nagel, Ericsson Eesti, Stora Enso Eesti, the Estonian branch of Nordea Bank Abp, Playtech Estonia, Helmes, and Fujitsu, participated in getting acquainted with the services of the International House. Kadi Pärnits said that they wish to introduce to the most important foreign recruiters in Estonia, step by step, how the International House simplifies the lives of entrepreneurs and the foreign specialists hired by them. ‘Already, the existence of the International House enables one to attract more foreign companies and investments to Estonia,’ Pärnits believed. 

The Head of Development at Kühne+Nagel, Jüri Vesterblom, praised the common effort of Mainor and the State to open the International House at Ülemiste City: ‘Such a service centre is of great help to us as an employer, since we invest very much of the time of our employees in advising foreign specialists, preparing documents and much more so that the new employees would be able to focus on their duties as quickly as possible. If someone assumes these responsibilities, then it is of great use to us, and our employees will be able to focus on what creates the most added value for us.’ 

Joole Kuljus-Triik, Head of HR at the Estonian branch of Nordea Bank Abp, the largest financial group in Northern Europe, added that the availability of the general practitioner’s service is also worrisome for foreign specialists. ‘In addition to opening the International House, the establishment of a health centre at the Ülemiste campus is also very good news,’ recognised Kuljus-Triik, remarking on the activities of the developers.   

At the International House, which will be opened in the Ülemiste campus at Valukoja 8, a foreigner will be able to register their place of residence, create an Estonian personal identification code, prepare documents for a residence permit, receive advice about their place of residence, schools and kindergartens, healthcare, work and career, culture, public transport, sporting and spending their free time. Also, different language learning and adaptation programmes, socialising and cultural events, meetings with companies, and much more has been planned to take place under the same roof.