Hallitusohjelma
The government programme, an action plan agreed on by the parties represented in the government, outlines a few important policy commitments on migrant and minority issues, including the following:
- The government regards integration of immigrants and the prevention of discrimination as essential activities during its term of office. The government endeavours to enhance the integration of immigrants into working life, increase their employment rate and halve their unemployment rate. Special attention is paid to groups with low employment rates. Furthermore, the government aims to intensify prevention of discrimination and increase the resources of the supervising authorities, including Occupational Health and Safety Administration.
- The government aims to extend language education into vocational training for migrants and improve their access to integration training and language education throughout the country. Special attention will be paid to the language education of students and housewives. Migrants' knowledge of their fundamental rights and of the workings of the Finnish society is enhanced through integration training. In addition, flexible and case-specific solutions are developed for the evaluation of qualification requirements of teachers with immigrant background and the acquisitions of Finnish qualifications. Steps are taken to develop the system of recognising foreign qualifications and to make access to further and supplementary training easier.
- The government aims to ensure sufficient provision of affordable rental housing to immigrants and its balanced and comprehensive regional distribution. Furthermore, the government will apply measures of positive special treatment to urban regional development. Appropriations will be channelled to regions where the unemployment rate is high, a large number of people live in rental housing and immigrants constitute a larger than average proportion of the population