The layoffs by Microsoft Mobile and Nokia in Tampere have created a unique opportunity for global high-technology companies to recruit top brains and experienced teams in an innovative business environment. This opportunity has been seized by, among others, Huawei and Swiss u-blox, which have opened research and product development units in the city.
While there may be a shortage of IT experts in other countries, they can easily be found right here in Tampere at this moment – and for very competitive wages.
“It’s worthwhile to act quickly, because last year 40 start-ups were founded, and this year 20–30 have emerged, started by the laid-off Microsoft professionals”, Antero Aalto, head of Microsoft‘s TamperePolku programme points out.
“Tampere is the birthplace of the smart phone and industrial Internet.“
“Microsoft has a very generous incentive system for start-ups. Everybody does not, however, become an entrepreneur, so there are also entire teams of extremely competent IT professionals with several decades of international experience in their own fields on the labour market. It is important for companies to act quickly. The salary level of engineers is also not as high as in Central Europe”, he states.
The international expert teams that Microsoft has released into the workforce specialize, for instance, in communications, antennas, displays and advanced touch-screen technology.
Industry and
University cooperation
Oliver Hussey, Senior Manager responsible for the promotion of international investments in the Tampere Region Economic Development Agency – Tredea – tells us that big companies in particular have enjoyed a wide-ranging and very close cooperation with the universities in Tampere.
“The hi-tech field is at a stage of transformation in Tampere. Instead of two dominating giants, there is now a multitude of companies from several different IT branches. For example, the Chinese company PowerVision, which produces drones, opened a research and product development centre in the city this autumn. Companies in industrial Internet and the automotive industries are the others most interested in what Tampere has to offer”, he adds. Thanks to the brisk start-up activities, Tampere has become an interesting hub for investors.
Nokia at its height employed over 5000 people in Tampere alone and most of those people continue to work in Tampere’s ICT cluster. Nokia today still employs over 650 people in Tampere mostly in its Networks and Technologies divisions and continues to innovate in cutting edge technologies such as the world’s first 360 degree video camera – The Nokia Ozo, which is designed in Tampere.
Text: Eila Lokka
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Tredea Oy promotes international investments in Tampere. The firm assists companies in finding partners, in starting research cooperation and finding top experts. The services are free of charge and confidential.
Oliver Hussey
Tel: +358 40 679 4142,
oliver.hussey@tredea.fi
