UK-based Intelligent Employment enters the Finnish market as the forerunner of cleantech recruitment

Impressed with Finland’s untapped market opportunities and a booming cleantech industry, specialist recruitment company Intelligent Employment open their first Nordic branch in Helsinki. With the help of Helsinki Business Hub’s landing services, a subsidiary is in the works and the company is currently establishing a foothold in the local market. For a company offering specialised expertise and high-quality connections within various energy and chemical sectors the growing market has great promise.

Focusing on a specific field and fusing digital and social media tactics with traditional recruitment approach have proven to be successful strategies for Intelligent Employment. The company was featured in the Top 25 Recruitment Agencies within the EMEA region for social engagement by LinkedIn and it is looking to double its size by the end of 2018. Due to an increase in Nordic demand and the unstable environment brought about by Brexit, the company began seeking out new locations in Northern Europe last year.

Helsinki provided support within a growing market

One of Europe’s strongest wind industry hubs, Hamburg, was initially considered for the relocation, but the complexity of setting up operations in Germany drove Intelligent Employment to turn to Scandinavia. Helsinki took the win due to strong market potential and little competition within the niche.

Helsinki Business Hub know the cleantech market, they have great contacts and an understanding of the complexities in forming a business in Finland.

Simon Evans-Jones

“Our customer base is mainly concentrated in Northern Europe, so there was a need for us to create a presence here. There were two defining factors that led us to choose Helsinki. First, there is a lot of market potential here as the Finnish cleantech industry is growing at a rapid pace. The second reason was competition. Other potential locations were heavily saturated with competitive recruitment within the renewable energy field, but in Finland there was no one focused in this industry,” Director of the Nordics Simon Evans-Jones explains.

Iftab Hussain

Support was offered through Business Finland, and Helsinki Business Hub stepped in to provide Intelligent Employment with soft landing services including establishing and taxation information as well as introducing potential partner organisations.

“Helsinki Business Hub know the cleantech market, they have great contacts and an understanding of the complexities in forming a business in Finland. They provided us with support and guidance, help with contacts and relevant information outlets. Cooperation was very smooth and efficient – they were always willing to help,” Managing Director Iftab Hussain recounts.

Calm before the cleantech storm

Presently Intelligent Employment is establishing itself in the market, making a name within the industry and building partnerships for the future. The Wind Finland event held in October was a successful platform to make connections and it painted a promising picture of the future of wind. According to The Finnish Wind Power Association, the industry is looking at over 20 billion in investments as Finland aims to increase the share of wind energy to 30% by 2030. This will more than triple the industry workforce.

Finland is at the start of something very special and Helsinki is a great location to be in if you are a player in the cleantech field. The city is innovative and entrepreneurial.

“Finland is at the start of something very special and Helsinki is a great location to be in if you are a player in the cleantech field. The city is innovative and entrepreneurial. Companies are jumping on the bandwagon – there is a lot of start-up energy, but also huge international energy companies are opening local offices here in Finland. There are a lot of attractive investment opportunities, for example power purchase agreements to build wind energy etc. Universities like Aalto and Vaasa produce top talent but in comparison to need, the local workforce is scarce. It’s an exciting time. I would say it’s the quiet before the storm,” Evans-Jones describes.

Mr. Evans-Jones is the first employee at the Helsinki office, and the company is looking to hire a few recruiters in the coming year. In addition to local work force, the UK team is growing rapidly. Intelligent Employment has also established an office in India to support the demand in the industry. In fact, the company is doubling in size by the end of 2018. As a company dedicated to supporting sustainability and promoting renewable energy, its values are strongly aligned with smart city initiatives and green solutions – business areas which are in growing demand. Intelligent Employment aims to be the number one business recruitment partner within the cleantech field in Finland. As a forerunner it certainly has a head start and plenty of potential to establish itself as the champion of its field.