International spouse, get support in navigating your life and career in your new home country

Many international professionals relocate to Tampere with their spouses who are also looking to build a life and re-start their careers here. The spouses are international talents themselves and come from various professional backgrounds. This is the untapped talent the Hidden Gems initiative is targeting at. When relocating, spouses often fall off the radar of organisational support, yet services tailored to spouses’ needs help them feel welcomed and enhance the integration of the whole family.

Peer groups for international spouses

In Tampere international spouses can participate in the Hidden Gems peer groups where they have the chance to meet others in the same life situation and get support in navigating their life and career. The groups are organised twice a year. The working language is English.

“The peer groups help you navigate and plan your life and career in the new country. In many cases friendships are born.” says Raisa Suominen, career coach at Tampere University. “The Hidden Gems team aims to ensure that the spouses are able to build a social network, improve their language skills and establish a social identity in Tampere. The spouses receive ideas and tools for developing professionally and for preparing for employment in Finland. We have helped more than 150 international spouses so far.”

Networking, group mentoring and professional development services

Hidden Gems is an initiative by the Tampere Universities community. It was initially launched in 2018 to support the spouses of international researchers at Tampere Universities. Later the activities were also opened to the private sector. The activities include networking, group mentoring and professional development services. Social networking, career coaching and learning Finnish together have been some of the most popular activities among the participants.

Read more about the Hidden Gems activities for spouses, and how to get involved at projects.tuni.fi/hiddengems.

Over the years, the Hidden Gems initiative has organised a variety of activities related to networking, mentoring and professional development, as a key for talent attraction and retention within Tampere Region. In 2023-2024 the focus is on peer groups. Currently, the Hidden Gems activities are produced in collaboration with local organisations and associations and the International House Tampere.