Fazer’s “125 Opportunities for Working Life” initiative paves the way to a new career

“125 Opportunities for Working Life”, a joint initiative by Fazer, Deaconess Foundation and the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, had a total of 127 participants between 2016 and 2019. After the training, nearly 70% of them got a job or continued their studies. The initiative was also awarded as the Recruitment Activity of the Year in Finland award in 2018. 

The “125 Opportunities for Working Life” initiative, launched by Fazer in 2016 for people who have experienced problems finding employment, has come to a successful end. In total, 127 people attended in the training provided as part of the initiative in cooperation with Deaconess Foundation and the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment. The total number of applicants was 1,267. Out of all participants, 102 people completed the training. The last group graduated in spring 2019.  All the training courses received an overall grade of 4/5 from the participants. After the training, 70% of participants went on to start working life (56%) or further studies (12%).

The participants in Fazer’s training initiative included the long-term unemployed, young unemployed, partially disabled people and immigrants. “Finnish workplaces are becoming increasingly diverse in terms of their workforce,” says President and CEO of Fazer Group Christoph Vitzthum.  “At Fazer, diversity is seen as a positive resource. We are very happy that the initiative helped so many people change the course of their lives.”

Fazer’s partner in organising the initiative, Deaconess Foundation, is a non-profit foundation devoted to helping people at risk of social exclusion. “Collaborating with Fazer on this initiative was a great experience. We need companies to take more responsibility and help solve the tough questions in our society, such as how to create new paths and opportunities for working life,” says Olli Holmström, Managing Director of the Deaconess Foundation.

The initiative also received the Recruitment Activity of the Year award at the Finnish Recruitment Awards, organised for the first time on 1 November 2018. The winner was selected from three finalists by recruitment professionals.

Good results through careful planning

The participants had two different orientations to choose from: training for the food industry or for the restaurant industry. There were three groups for both options. The programme began with work-related training, followed by a work placement where the trainees got to expand their knowledge and skills on the job. The drop-out percentage was only 18%, which speaks of a successful selection process and highly motivated participants. “In similar programmes, the drop-out percentage is often higher than 50%, so collaboration and careful planning by Fazer’s recruitment team, the Helsinki Deaconess Institute and the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment obviously paid off,” Christoph Vitzthum muses. Each participant’s training history, experience and wishes were taken into consideration in selecting the work placements. “Our recruitment team was committed to supporting the participants in their studies and actively sought out suitable career paths for each of them,” Christoph Vitzthum continues.

At the start of 2017, the team led by restaurant manager Tiina Lyly hosted a young trainee who got to work as an assistant cook during his work placement, just as he had hoped. “Everything went really well. In fact, he returned to us for another period of practical training later on when he was attending Fazer’s Chef trainee programme, where he continued his studies after the recruitment training,” Tiina Lyly explains. She is happy to note that the former trainee is now a Fazer employee.

Eeva Mieho, who worked in insurance before becoming unemployed, found herself a new career in the restaurant industry. During her work placement at restaurant Let’s Play in Keilaniemi, Espoo, she got to try everything in practice. “It was lovely how patient my co-workers were when I started learning how to do things without any experience in the restaurant industry. I got really good guidance,” Eeva Mieho says gratefully. Most of her time was spent in the café. “Customer service is my thing. I had once taken a barista course organised by Paulig for my own amusement. It came in handy when I was learning to make specialty coffees!” After the training, Eeva Mieho found work at various restaurants through Fazer’s internal resourcing service, Tempo. She now has a permanent job as a cash desk waitress in a personnel restaurant at Fazer. “This training programme was just perfect for me – to think that I was able to find a new path at this age!”

Meeting challenges with tenacity and team spirit

The recruitment training initiative was meant for people who had experienced problems finding employment, such as the long-term unemployed, young unemployed, partially disabled people and immigrants. Returning to working life is not always easy after a long period of absence or illness. There may also be other obstacles, such as poor language skills. “Advance information and common sense were the keys to success,” says foreman Jari Valtonen from the Gateau Sörnäinen bakery. He worked as a supervisor at the in-store bakery in the Prisma supermarket in Kerava in the early days of the initiative. His team hosted a trainee in the autumn of 2016 and again in the spring of 2017.

“It was a very positive experience for all parties,” Jari Valtonen continues. One of the two trainees had experienced a long period of illness and unemployment before the training programme. “This trainee went through a visible transformation during those months. It clearly brought joy back into their life and made them truly determined to turn their life around.” Later on, the trainee called Jari Valtonen to say that they found a job at another food company after the training.

For many immigrants, poor language skills become an issue when trying to find employment. This is often a bit of a difficult situation, as using the language at work would be a fast way to improve those skills. This was the case for the second trainee hosted by Jari Valtonen’s team. “In the beginning, the language barrier was high. We agreed that they should shake their head until they truly understood the matter being discussed,” he explains. “However, we saw quick improvement in this trainee’s language skills due to their hard-working and tenacious attitude.”

Irina Batsurina, whose own language skills required a lot of practice at the start of her work placement, also emphasises the importance of being active and taking the initiative. Her skills improved during the theoretical training, and especially during her work placement at Fazer’s in-store bakery at the CM supermarket in Sello. “I had to understand and be understood in order to get things done,” Irina Batsurina says. “It was lovely how much everyone wanted to help. We agreed at the very start that I should ask as many questions as it takes for me to really understand,” she explains in fluent Finnish. “And I definitely did!”

Valuable experience in leading diverse teams

Society needs people at risk of social exclusion to return to working life. This need intersects with the genuine business needs that companies have. “We need to have different paths to find skilled employees,” Christoph Vitzthum says. “This initiative has also helped us to identify potential areas of development related to diversity management. Our company gained a lot of human capital: a tolerant corporate culture, a positive approach to diversity, lessons in managing and leading diverse teams, as well as valuable resources for our own teams.”

A common project or task that focuses on doing good and helping people also moulds the work community and brings it closer together. Supervisors from the companies that hosted trainees commented in their feedback that the experience helped to broaden the mind and reduce prejudice. The initiative provided supervisors with experience and confidence in leading diverse teams and the courage to hire different kinds of people. In the spring of 2017, a recent recruitment training graduate found temporary work at the restaurant under the leadership of manager Tiina Lyly. Working part time at four hours per day was the best fit for their situation. “They were very diligent about their duties as a floor assistant, and it was great to see their confidence grow,” Tiina Lyly says.

The initiative has also had a positive financial impact on society. The cost of social exclusion is high: according to some studies, each excluded young person costs society more than one million euros a year. Furthermore, it is not even possible to measure the effects of the initiative at the individual level. In their feedback, participants talk about the experience of feeling accepted and a boost in self-esteem. Irina Batsurina, who began her training in 2017, says that her improved language skills encouraged her to study further. In two years, she also obtained a vocational qualification to work as a baker-confectioner and got a permanent job at the same establishment where she had completed her work placement during the recruitment training. All her experiences have made her much more courageous and confident. “It helped me to learn the local way of life and working culture in Finland and to integrate into Finnish society,” she concludes. “I now feel part of the Fazer family. Life is secure and comfortable now that I have a steady job.”

Fazer Group

In 1891, the young Karl Fazer opened his first café with a mission to make food with a purpose – and a passion to create moments of joy for all the people around him. It became Northern Magic. Made Real. Today, Fazer is an international family-owned company offering quality bakery, confectionery, biscuit and grain products, plant-based meals, non-dairy products, on-the-go food & drinks as well as food and café services. The Group operates in nine countries and exports to around 40 countries. The success of Fazer has been built on Karl Fazer’s vision, values and fearless creativity: the best product and service quality, beloved brands, the passion of skilful people and responsible ways of working. In 2018, Fazer Group had net sales of 1.6 billion euros and more than 15,000 employees. Fazer’s operations comply with ethical principles that are based on the Group’s values and the UN Global Compact.

Northern Magic. Made Real.