Estonian minister: Employers should continue contributing to immigration work group

TALLINN - Estonian Interior Minister Andres Anvelt in an address to the representatives of employers invited them to take part in the work of the immigration work group, the Ministry of the Interior said on Friday evening.

"Our position is that representatives of the Employers' Confederation, the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chamber of Service Economy, who competently represent the interests of the business field, should definitely be present at the immigration work group. Therefore I'm once again calling on you to contribute to the work of the work group in the future," Anvelt said in a letter to employers.

According to Anvelt the government is constantly looking for balanced solutions to attract specialists to Estonia's labor market. "We are promoting inviting top specialists who will provide the most added value to Estonia because it would provide the most additional opportunities for increasing the employment of Estonian residents," he said.

The interior minister emphasized that attracting foreign workforce is only one facet of the workforce issue and even more important is to reassess domestic opportunities. He added that Estonia has to train its workforce more, support people changing their profession for a profession with a bigger added value and reduce the rate of unemployment among local residents.