“Come up with situations in which people speak Finnish to you”

At the bank, my working language is Finnish. It seemed challenging at first, even though I had studied and used Finnish before. The difference between the spoken language and textbooks is big. Working in customer service, I meet different people who speak differently depending on their age, personal style or place of residence. My language skills are improving rapidly because I speak Finnish at work every day.

Support from my employer and the work community is crucial. It is important that international employees find employment as often as possible even when their Finnish language skills are still developing. I belonged to a group of several people speaking Finnish as a second language who started at OP Uusimaa at the same time. The bank created a slightly longer training and orientation period for us. We also undertook assignments concerning specific banking vocabulary.

Everyone has their own way of learning a language. That is why it is a good idea to try different ways instead of just reading textbooks and doing homework.

You can try studying Finnish from songs if you like music. You can read books in plain Finnish if you like reading like I do. You can watch Finnish YouTube videos on topics that you find interesting. It is also a good idea to join Finnish-speaking groups that meet in most Finnish libraries.

When I began to study Finnish, I used the language on my own initiative rather than just waiting for people to speak Finnish to me. In clothing stores, I would ask about the products. At the shopping center, I would go to the info desk and ask where a specific store was.

Learning a language is a marathon. Sometimes it feels like there’s no development at all, but you’re still moving forward. Developing your language skills takes time, so be patient!

I came to Finland to study a bachelor’s degree in business administration. I graduated from the International Business program from Turku University of Applied Sciences in 2018. My degree was in English.

My studies included compulsory Finnish language courses, and I also took language courses at the summer university. These courses were a good way to learn Finnish. After graduation, I worked at a restaurant where I learned more. Then I got a job at a clothing store and I learned still more. And now I work in a bank!

“Traditionally, the mindset at the banking sector has been that people working in customer service must speak Finnish at a level comparable to a native speaker. We boldly began to question this way of thinking and hired people who are still learning Finnish.”

“As an organization, we have learned a lot, and customer feedback has been positive. We can serve our increasingly international customer base better by having more cultural understanding and more diverse language skills. ”

“In addition, we want to offer work to international employees living in Finland and participate in building the future of Finnish society.”

– Niina Oksanen, Director at OP Uusimaa

OP Uusimaa is the largest bank in OP Financial Group, owned by its owner-customers and employing over 1,300 finance experts. It provides banking, insurance, and real estate brokerage services for private customers as well as SME customers. OP Uusimaa has more than 370,000 owner-customers and more than half a million customers.