What is your dream job? A question we are asked our whole lives, starting from kindergarten. Our society revolves around working, and for many, work is an essential part of their identity – and yet a lot of people are excluded from the workforce against their will, and their chance of chasing their dreams is denied. Finland’s first digital recruitment platform for jobseekers with limited work abilities helps employers create diverse work environments, where both people and businesses prosper. With iSetu’s help, organisations can solve their labour shortage problems by hiring problem solvers who see things differently. Inclusive organisations are also healthier and more likely to enhance their performance, reliability, and business outcomes. Most importantly, iSetu helps employers create welcoming work communities, where anyone can build a successful career that their younger self would be proud of.
Two problems, one solution – iSetu helps workplaces by helping people find places to work
Finland’s population is aging and our age dependency ratio rising, meaning there are
less and less people in our working population every year. Employers are even talking
about labour shortage, but the truth is that many of them are still ignoring a viable
solution.
“We are solving the workforce problem of Finland by connecting inclusive employers
and jobseekers with limited or partial work abilities and health conditions, promoting
responsible hiring and advocating social sustainability”, the mastermind behind iSetu,
Ruchi Sahita, says.
The one to decide whether a person with a disability can do a specific job should be the person with the disability themselves – and yet many jobseekers with disabilities often face barriers such as discrimination, limited accessibility, and fewer opportunities. This can lead to social exclusion and even poverty, making it increasingly difficult to function as a part of society.
“However, inclusive workplaces and supportive policies can enhance their
employment prospects. With the right accommodations, they contribute valuable skills
and diverse perspectives to the workforce. This also gives them self-esteem and a better quality of life”, Sahita explains.
How does Sahita know so much about this topic? She is a Quantitative Risk Analyst at
an international bank but also volunteers for people with disabilities and health
conditions. Despite doing volunteer work for years, she never realised how hard it was
for people with disabilities to find employment – at least not until she attended a
seminar presented by a person with a hearing impairment. During their presentation,
they told the audience how difficult it is for people with disabilities to land job
interviews, let alone get hired, even when they have the right qualifications. From that
very moment, Sahita decided to do everything she could to end employers’
unconscious bias. That is how iSetu came to be.
A platform for equality and accessibility
Together with governmental and non-governmental organisations, iSetu discovers and
creates job opportunities for people with disabilities, helping them build the connections needed to achieve their career goals. What makes the new job board so unique is that it is exclusively targeted to people with limited or partial work ability and those who want to hire them. But there is no reason to feel intimidated by novelty –
using the digital platform is made as easy as possible, with accessibility at its core.
Jobseekers can explore the platform to find postings and inclusive work communities.
Employers get to post job openings on a trusted board designed for a very specific
need, gaining access to a pool of diverse talents.
Workforce integration initiatives also enhance social inclusion and contribute to
national economic growth – and because iSetu is all about inclusion and growth, they
involve people with disabilities in the platform’s development process. Real users
provide valuable insights and feedback that help iSetu improve its products and
services to truly meet their target group’s needs.
A service truly beneficial to all – people, municipalities, and even whole
states
It is clear that iSetu is helping people with limited work ability, but they are also giving
companies a competitive advantage by helping them hire more responsibly and
inclusively. As Finland’s first and only digital recruitment platform dedicated to this
cause, iSetu’s NGO network connects employers to over 50,000 jobseekers. iSetu also
offers standardised and customised training programs to enhance psychological safety and team engagement at workplaces. It is proven that through disability inclusion strategies and better policy making, companies can achieve 15 to 20 percent revenue increases. These actions also have the potential to improve the sense of belonging within the company by about 5 percent.
Taking steps toward becoming an inclusive workplace is great for employer branding
too, and appreciated by both people with and without disabilities. The NGO network
showcases partner companies’ commitment to inclusive hiring and gives them visibility through blogs and other owned media, which earns them recognition as disability-friendly employers. Having all kinds of people in your personnel also drives innovation, giving the whole organisation a new perspective on what they should or should not be doing. Most of all, using iSetu’s service helps reduce the unemployment rate and the burden of social benefits, like disability pension, making iSetu not useful for just employers, but the whole society.
The problems iSetu is solving are relevant not only here in Finland, but all around the
world. After all, Finland is traditionally seen as one of the most equal and inclusive
countries in the world, and even we have a lot of room for improvement. That is why the
iSetu team is now focusing on making a difference here in Finland, but the plan is to
extend their service to other European countries in the next ten years – the world is filled with countless career dreams just waiting to be made into reality, and a hero’s work is never done.
iSetu in a nutshell
Established: In May 2024.
Solution: A digital platform for employers focusing on responsible hiring of jobseekers
with partial or limited work abilities.
Objective: Promoting responsible hiring and advocating social sustainability.
Interesting fact: The team knows firsthand that people with disabilities should not be
underestimated – one of iSetu’s founders is affected by limited work ability and works
just as hard as (sometimes even harder than) the rest of the team.
Learn more:
isetu.eu
iSetu’s LinkedIn
iSetu’s introductory video