Municipalities play a key role in promoting integration. Basic public services in particular are a way in which municipalities promote integration. Immigrants require services in fields such as early care and education as well as education and training, just like other municipal residents. Housing services and recreational services are also important to immigrants. A further central element in promoting integration at the initial stage is the integration programme organised by the municipality under the Integration Act.
Municipalities are required to organise an integration programme which must include at least:
- assessments of skills and the need for integration services;
- integration plans prepared on the basis of the assessment;
- multilingual civic orientation;
- integration training and the final language proficiency examination included in it;
- other training and education and services to promote language proficiency in Finnish and Swedish, literacy, civic skills and working life skills, and employment and entrepreneurship;
- guidance and advice for the duration of the integration programme.
Municipalities are also required to attend to the provision of general guidance and advice to immigrants. Where necessary, the municipality shall provide the immigrant with information on Finnish society, the service system and the system of education, working life and immigrants’ rights and obligations in Finland.
Municipalities have general and coordination responsibility for planning and developing the integration of immigrants and integration customers as well as good relations between population groups at the local level. The planning and development of integration promotion shall be taken into account in drawing up and monitoring municipal strategies and plans.
Other duties relating to integration promotion have also been laid down for municipalities. They shall:
- develop the promotion of integration through multi-sectoral cooperation;
- coordinate their planning and development of integration promotion with the planning and development of the services which the wellbeing services county is responsible for organising;
- ensure that their services suit the needs of immigrants;
- ensure that the number of the municipality’s measures and services under the Integration Act is sufficient in light of needs;
- attend to the competence of their own personnel in promoting integration.
Read more:
Act on the Promotion of Immigrant Integration (finlex.fi)
Services promoting integration
