The winners of the International Employer of the Year 2025

🌟 2025 Winners are...

 

Netlight Consulting, an international technology consulting company founded in Finland, is one of the two winners in the large enterprise category. The judging panel was impressed by the company’s commitment to international recruitment and the development of a diverse corporate culture. Netlight’s more than 2,000 experts represent 60 different nationalities across nine countries, and 22% of the consultants working in the Helsinki office are international professionals. Diversity and inclusion are an essential part of Netlight’s operations, reflected in close cooperation between different markets and in nurturing a strong sense of belonging.

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The other winner in the large enterprise category is an international home furnishing and solutions company IKEA. The judges appreciated the company’s long-term work to promote equality and diversity. IKEA has established coworker groups for employees from different backgrounds, and launched the Equal Start program, which offers multicultural employees opportunities to develop in sales and customer service roles. Through the program, IKEA has successfully strengthened its diversity and created more inclusive teams.

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Famifarm Oy, which strongly incorporates multiculturalism into its everyday operations, won the small and medium-sized enterprises category. The company provides fresh salads and herbs to Finnish consumers year-round. The jury valued the company’s international recruitment efforts, as more than 70% of new employees come from outside Finland. At Famifarm, multiculturalism is not a separate development area but an integral part of daily work: HR and supervisors regularly dedicate time to developing practices that work in a multicultural environment, and all key communication takes place in both Finnish and English. The company continuously invests in clear, multilingual onboarding materials, interpretation services, and training to ensure that diverse teams can succeed in their work.

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The University of Helsinki was awarded in the public sector category. The university is a genuinely multicultural and multinational community, with around 30% of its teaching and research staff coming from international backgrounds and representing nearly one hundred nationalities. The jury appreciated the university’s long-term efforts to support the integration of international students and researchers into Finnish society, including employing 30–40 non-Finnish-speaking students annually through international internship programs. The University of Helsinki promotes diversity, equality, and non-discrimination in all its activities and has created a new equality and non-discrimination plan that puts these values into practice and supports the retention of international talent at the university and in Finland.

 

Each of these winners has demonstrated exceptional commitment to recruiting, orienting, and engaging international talents, which is key to driving Finland's future economic growth.

 

We extend our heartiest congratulations to the winners and thank all participants for showcasing the best of Finnish international employment practices.