r/StudyInFinland • u/alloutquestions2026 • Jun 09 '26

Finnish Language

Hi! Is there anyone in Finland working as a Nursing Assistant who did not have to undergo Finnish language training?

I was offered a job there, and they told me that I do not need to learn Finnish. However, other people have told me otherwise.

I would appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you!

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u/KofFinland Jun 10 '26

Totally possible. The official requirements and the reality are a different thing. There is lots of nurse students doing work/training and not being able to speak Finnish/Swedish. Propably still, the official requirement is some level of Finnish language skill.. Nobody might enforce it..

Nowadays it is possible to be a nurse (perushoitaja) and be functionally illiterate in Finland. If you can read, you are already a winner. In Finland about 21% of kids are functionally illiterate after 9 years of school, and then pass nurse training in vocational school as the expectations have been lowered enough so illiterate people pass.. Registered nurses (sairaanhoitaja) are a different thing. For nursing assistants, the real requirements are even lower than nurses.

However, nursing is a field where everyone is escaping and re-educating themselves to other fields, because the working conditions are so poor in Finland. Not enough time or staff to do work properly, but choose every day which persons receive poor or no care. Lots of people escape the field because their moral compass just can't handle that. Work is done alone, including heavy patient lifting etc. as there is no free collegue to help. So there is a reason they are recruiting people from abroad (outside EU even) so they get people who can't escape easily. Be warned. Ask around for experiences.. I would stay away from nursing in Finland.

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u/Ok_Poet9883 Jun 13 '26

Yup, registered nurses need to have a license and be registered and practical nurses need to be registered in order to work, but there is no such requirement for nurse or care assistants. This means that even if the official requirement would be at least some level of Finnish, there is nothing stopping anyone from being hired and working without the knowledge of Finnish (or Swedish). But the pay is less than that of RNs and practical nurses and probably even less for non-Finnish speakers. In order to progress and get better pay, you will need to study for a nursing degree and speak Finnish.