Filipino Nurses Are Not the Cause of Challenges in Care Homes

Responsibility for Support Lies With Recruitment Agencies and Employers

Recent public discourse has included claims suggesting that the challenges faced by care homes are mainly linked to the language skills of foreign-born staff, particularly Filipino nurses. Such claims are not only biased but also harmful, as they shift attention away from structural problems and unfairly place blame on workers who have come to Finland to meet a critical labour shortage.

It is essential to emphasise that responsibility for professional language proficiency and preparation for the work environment does not rest solely on the employee. Recruitment agencies and employers have a clear obligation to ensure that internationally recruited workers receive sufficient, high-quality and realistically timed language training before relocation and before beginning their employment.

Both Finnish and international research shows that language training delivered in the country of origin often fails to meet the complex linguistic demands of Finnish care environments. Much of the teaching is conducted online or through self-study, which is pedagogically insufficient, especially for nursing work that requires nuanced, safety-critical interaction.

For this reason, employers in Finland must continue providing language support and ensure that workers have genuine opportunities to learn and use Finnish in professional contexts. Supervisors and work communities must also receive training to effectively lead and support multicultural teams.

Intensive, goal-oriented Finnish language instruction tailored to the needs of care homes is not an additional service, it is an essential component of successful recruitment.

Filipino nurses have reported that support from supervisors and management for developing their Finnish language skills has not been sufficient. A fast-paced work environment, staffing shortages and limited opportunities to participate in training have hindered learning on the job.

Many workers have indicated that they were not provided with study time, guidance or mentoring, even though these are critical both for patient safety and for employee wellbeing.

In vocational education, students with migrant backgrounds have encountered situations where assessment, guidance or the learning environment has not been equitable. This has increased stress and delayed the process of becoming professionally qualified. Such inequality is reflected in the labour market and may create unnecessary barriers to career progression and integration.

For decades, Filipino nurses have provided warm, compassionate and high-quality care to older adults and residents of Finnish care homes. Their work has been vital to maintaining the functioning of the care sector, particularly during periods when domestic labour availability has been a critical challenge.

It is unreasonable and unjust to scapegoat these professionals for challenges that stem from system-level decisions and structural issues in working life—not from individual employees.

We Appeal: Stop Racist, Discriminatory and Harmful Speech Targeting Filipino Nurses

We call on decision-makers, employers, recruitment actors, the media and society at large to treat foreign-born nursing professionals with respect. We condemn all hate speech, discrimination and stigmatising rhetoric directed at Filipino nurses.

Such discourse not only harms the workers. It undermines the credibility of care services as a whole and damages Finland’s reputation as a responsible and ethical destination for labour migration.

We Demand Concrete Actions and Accountability from Recruitment Agencies and Employers

To improve the current situation, recruitment agencies and employers must:

• provide comprehensive language training both before relocation and in Finland
• ensure that supervisors and work communities are prepared to support international employees
• establish clear and transparent orientation and support processes
• maintain equitable assessment practices in both education and the workplace
• listen to employees and incorporate their experiences into improving operations

We also encourage Filipino nurses to openly express their need for further support in learning Finnish. It is important that workers feel comfortable asking for additional guidance, training or supervised practice without fear of stigma. At the same time, we encourage all Filipino nurses to actively use Finnish both at work and outside the workplace, as consistent language use strengthens learning, builds confidence and supports integration. Developing language skills is a shared process that requires both individual engagement and employer-provided support.

Filipino nurses are not the cause of challenges in care homes. They are part of the solution—provided they are given the fair working conditions, training and support they rightfully deserve.