Finland needs 50,000 immigrants per year by 2050 to fill job vacancies: Tech association

By Leila Nezirevic

LONDON (AA) - Finland needs over 50,000 immigrants a year by 2050 to fill job vacancies due to an ageing population, a technology association said.

"Finland is getting older and more indebted, and our economical maintenance relationship is turning upside down," said Jaakko Eskola, chairman of Technology Finland, is quoted as saying by Xinhua News Agency.

The association of around 1,800 tech industry companies also stated that the technology industry alone will need 130,000 new experts in the next 10 years.

It is believed that there will be tens of thousands of job vacancies in the export industry in the next ten years and that only half of these will replace retirees.

Eskola warned that the welfare state will not be able to maintain itself If Finland does not have enough working-age people.

Therefore, the only option is to significantly increase immigration, he added.

The chairman pointed out that Finland must build a successful long-term immigration policy.

But that alone is not enough to solve the country's challenges, he said.

It is also essential to raise the skill level of young people, especially in the fields of information and communication technology, Eskola added.