Welcome2EP
Welcome2EP is a guidance and counseling service operating in Southern Ostrobothnia, whose customers are people who have moved to Finland from another country. The reason for staying in Finland or the period of residence is irrelevant.
For those who moved to the country
Welcome2EP serves immigrants living in South Ostrobothnia, regardless of the reason for entry or length of stay in Finland. There are service points all over the province.
Welcome2EP offers information as well as help, advice and guidance in everyday matters and practical questions:
- Information about Finnish society.
- Information, advice and help with official services (police, DVV, Kela, tax office, TE office).
- Help with transactions in municipal services (social and health care, early childhood education/daycare, primary school).
- Information about language courses and training opportunities and help with applying for courses and training.
- Information about the rules and processes related to work and work-related immigration, as well as help in applying for permits.
- Information about hobbies and other activities that strengthen inclusion, as well as help in finding your own community.
- Information, help and advice on living, moving and managing everyday life.
- Welcome2EP’s service languages are Finnish, English and Hungarian.
Translation for other languages is available!
For employers
One key goal of Welcome2 EP is to support the international workforceplanning to live in South Ostrobothnia. To achieve the goal of Welcome2EP, among other things:
- Provides employers with general advice on work permits.
- Offers employers a way to promote employee integration.
- Supports the working life skills of immigrants by offering guidance, counseling and training.
- Enables meetings between foreign workforce and employers in the region.
- Guidance and counseling can be offered even before arrival in the country, and employers are encouraged to guide new migrant workers to the Welcome2EP services at an early stage.
For partners of municipalities and other organizations
Successful integration requires the two-way integration of integration, i.e. that attention is paid not only to the integrationist’s readiness to integrate, but also to the receiving society’s readiness to integrate. The goal of Welcome2EP is to support receptivity. to improve the services offered to immigrants as a whole and to increase the discussion about the internationalization of South Pohja. To achieve this goal, Welcome2EP e.g.:
- Actively informs municipalities and other organizations about its services
- Trains and consults local authorities in matters related to immigration, immigrants and cultural encounters.
- Directs people towards local communities such as hobbies and other association activities.
- Works in multi-professional networks locally, regionally and nationally.
- Promotes dialogue locally, regionally and nationally.
From the point of view of being referred to the service, it is particularly important that as many public sector service units as possible have information about existing guidance and counseling services for immigrants. Information about the services enhances the guidance of those who have moved to the country within the scope of guidance and counseling services. And further, functioning initial services promote integration and employment in the longer term.