Estonia, a tech-savvy and ever-globalizing country, has lately been busy developing many initiatives to help and encourage foreign talent to relocate here. Work in Estonia, launched on April 28 by Enterprise Estonia, a government agency, is the most ambitious welcoming program yet.
The goal of Work in Estonia is to simplify the process for local companies to employ overseas experts and to introduce Estonia as the perfect destination for fulfilling one’s potential.
Because it is a member of the European Union, there are no obstacles for EU citizens wishing to move to Estonia, but the country has recently made it easier to employ foreign specialists from non-EU/EEA countries as well. Work in Estonia is tasking itself to gather all the relevant information on one platform – both for employers and potential employees.
Expats, who have already relocated to Estonia, cite many reasons why they’re happy with their decision. Work in Estonia aims to share these positive experiences with future recruits, as well as informing them about practicalities – first regarding relocating, and then about daily living and working in Estonia. The website will also advertise relevant job opportunities in Estonia.
“At first glance, it may raise a few eyebrows that one small Nordic country could compete for talent alongside places like London, Berlin or Silicon Valley,” says Kristel Kask, the project manager of Work in Estonia. “But in reality, Estonia has several advantages that make it an attractive place for many future-orientated, high-achieving talents from all over the world.”
Kask gives some examples. First, people moving to Estonia from Western countries consider the main motivator and attraction of Estonia to be its compact organizational hierarchy, which enables people to climb up the career ladder more rapidly than in other countries. Teams are smaller and everyone has the chance to have their say in decision-making. The country is regarded as straightforward and open-minded.
Second, the high level of English language skills is considered a very positive thing. Non-Estonian speakers do not generally feel helpless in Estonia – indeed, the country is in the top ten in the English Proficiency Index.
Third, the Estonian living environment is considered to be notably safe, affordable and easy-going. Life is not over-regulated and the pace of life is not as hectic or stressful as in larger global cities. In just half an hour one can be out of the city and surrounded by unspoiled nature, and even in the towns, the level of pollution is very low – Estonia is among the countries with the cleanest air in the world, according to World Health Organization.
Fourth, dealings with both the state and with business are regarded as efficient. As public services are digitalized, everything in Estonia takes place quickly and painlessly. Expats say they particularly appreciate the opportunity to directly interact with officials.
And last, but not least – the cultural opportunities are endless. Despite the small size of the country, it is possible to attend great concerts and other cultural events non-stop.
Often referred to as ‘e-Estonia’ and even ‘the little Silicon Valley of Europe,’ Estonia is punching above its weight in ICT. Therefore it comes as no surprise that most of the hiring is conducted in this sector.
Companies like TransferWise, Skype and Kuehne + Nagel are just a few examples of Estonia-based employers who are already actively recruiting globally. The demand for top specialists is expected to grow in the future as well, in line with the growth of ‘e-Estonia’ and its ICT sector.
Work in Estonia’s aim is to make international recruitment easier not just for ICT companies, but also for companies hiring in other sectors such as the mechanics and electronics industry, and finance. “The web page will provide relevant information about international recruitment for employers, in order to help the hiring process go smoothly,” Kask says, adding that Work In Estonia is also a good channel for companies in Estonia to promote themselves and make it easier to be seen by the international talent pool.
The team behind Work in Estonia is certainly ready to welcome new specialists to Estonia – “Welcome aboard!” – as they say.
The homicide (murder) rate is higher in Estonia than the USA.
I am sorry, but I don’t really understand what has this got to do with the article above…?! As the population in USA is over 240 times bigger and the average numbers would come substantially smaller and would not give the right picture.
That’s why we use per-capita numbers — to adjust for country population differences.
As for why I brought this up, from the article:
“Third, the Estonian living environment is considered to be notably safe, affordable and easy-going.”
Based on homicide rates, one is more likely to be murdered in Estonia than in the US. I’m not sure that qualifies as “notably safe.”
The incarceration rate in the US is 3x higher than in Estonia. You should leave the states because you might be incarcerated!
By the way: http://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_by_country.jsp (takes into account other statistics apart from just the 0.3 difference in homicide rates in 2011)
The difference is incarceration is withing a person’s control while being murdered is not. If I don’t commit crimes, I won’t end up in prison.
But I can be minding my own business and still be murdered. That’s in the hands of the murderer, not me.
True. There’s also a difference between the homicide rate and general safety, as shown in the index linked above. Even so, as you can see from a comment above, our homicide rate has gone down notably (20%) in the intervening years. So it is “considered notably safe”.
This is probably not true. Estonia’s homicide rate in 2014 was 3.9, according to the annual report by the Ministry of Justice. For the USA, the most recent figure I could find was 4.7 in 2012.
It’s best to compare the same year since crime globally has trended down.
The UN Global Homicide report numbers are 5.0 for Estonia, and 4.7 for the US (2011 data in both cases). See pages 128 and 132.
http://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf
The homicides in Estonia are mostly family quarels or drunken parties where they get into a fight and someone gets killed,not like in the US were serial killers go around and murder inecent people.
According to the FBI:
“Serial murder is a relatively rare event, estimated to comprise less than one percent of all murders committed in any given year.”
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder
It makes no sense to compare US homicide rate with that of Estonia. US is huge, and the regions need to be defined individually as there are great cultural differences from one region to another. Also, I feel very safe walking the streets of NYC late at night. One does avoid certain neighborhoods, but that is true of all big cities.
Brilliant article, but lost all my interest due to the discussion below it. Why would you keep arguing on something completely irrelevant that doesn’t even cover the article. You are trying to attract business minded and smart people into this project of yours not serial killers and murderers.
Good article and very informative….I do not see any sense to compare Estonia with any other country. Estonia has gained with their own and now if you are getting good fruits and welcoming professionals from all over the world, that shows where is Estonia now……There is vast difference between USA & Estonia….
Thanks for this article! I have a client who is in the process of developing a staffing agency. He resides in the US but has a lot of individuals he knows in India who are from skilled backgrounds and even individuals who can help decrease the shortage of unskilled workers. I would love to learn more!