Since early 2022, Finland has experienced a rapid boom in its data centre industry, quickly becoming a prominent player in the global market. This growth has been driven due to huge investments from multinational corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Nebius Group, and Equinix.
“As a recruitment partner, we’re seeing a clear shift toward Finland becoming a preferred destination for hyperscale infrastructure projects. As a result, demand for skilled professionals in data centre construction, engineering, and operations has accelerated significantly.”
Ralph Watts – Lead Nordic Construction & Engineering Consultant
The Perfect Climate
Finland is primarily seeing this increased shift of data centre develop due to their renowned reputation for renewable energy use. Their facilities are largely powered by a mix of wind, hydroelectric and nuclear energy, while using advanced cooling solutions – such as seawater systems – to help maximise the efficiency and minimise the plants’ environmental impacts. This low-carbon combination makes Finland an attractive destination for hyperscale projects as it enables global companies to easily meet their ESG compliance requirements and sustainability quotas and while maintaining high-quality infrastructure.
Skilled Labour Shortages
The rapid and unprecedented growth of the data centre market has had significant benefits for Finland’s economy; however, it has also caused a major challenge: demand for skilled labour is sharply rising, while the availability of specialised local talent is limited.
It is estimated that Finland’s digital infrastructure expansion will generate tens of thousand of new jobs nationwide, as personnel will be required across every stage of the project lifecycle – from project development and design engineering through to construction, commissioning and day-to-day operation roles.
However, this level of growth will be extremely difficult for Finland to accommodate alone. There is reported to be a significant gap in digital infrastructure skills, which has led to national recommendations focussed on “reskilling and upskilling” the existing workforce to strengthen the local capabilities and meet rising demand.
As a result, Finland is becoming increasingly reliant on the ability to attract and retain skilled international workers, to help mitigate their labour constraints, stabilise workforce capacity and ensure the steady and consistent expansion of its data centre market.
Compliance in Finland
However, hiring a large number of international workers involves navigating intricate regulatory frameworks and policies, including work permits, taxation, and immigration compliance requirements.
This is particularly challenging for Finland, as their policies often differ from those of neighbouring Nordic countries, adding an additional layer of administrative complexity for employers operating across the region – for example, the requirement for employees to obtain a Valtti card before working onsite.
- Valtti Card – A Valtti card is a mandatory photo ID used on construction sites in Finland, and all employees are required to carry one. The card was introduced to prevent undocumented work, improve tax transparency, and enhance safety and accountability across job sites. A key feature of the documentation is the inclusion of a personal tax number – you cannot obtain a Valtti card without a Finnish tax number, which is issued by a tax authority.
With such nuanced policies in place, it is essential that corporations ensure their full compliance at every stage of the hiring process. This is to ensure that there are no oversights in the onboarding, which would lead to unnecessary delays, wasting time and money.
Our Partnership
Partnering with g2 Recruitment removes the compliancy burden from your hiring process. Our consultants work proactively to deliver fully compliant solutions, thoroughly verifying every candidate’s documentation before they are even introduced to your hiring managers.
Our priority is to keep your data centre operations running smoothly, ensuring project timelines remain consistent and cost-efficient – particularly when it comes to factors within your control.
For help securing fully compliant candidates for your upcoming Nordic data centre projects, contact Ralph Watts on ralph.watts@g2recruitment.com, or contact@g2recruitment.com.
– Ralph Watts , Lead Nordic Construction & Engineering Consultant
