Minna Helle breaks another glass ceiling – “After all, I have a pretty exceptional background for this job”

Career peak moment.

So Go to Helle51, describes the job he starts Monday.

On Monday, Heltei will become the CEO of Teknologiateollisuus ry. At the same time, she breaks another glass ceiling, because she is the first woman in her position.

Helle also made history in 2015, when she became Finland’s first woman to take up the position of national mediator.

When asked, Helle replies that it still matters. As long as a woman has not worked in a position, the choice of the first woman is important.

“Of course, I am extremely proud to be the first woman in this position as well. Does it somehow define my work? In no way.”

Helle has of course been employed by the Technology Industry since 2018, first as labor market director and then as deputy CEO. Therefore, it should not be a huge surprise that the organization’s current CEO Jaakko Hirvolan when he retired, it was Helle who was chosen as his successor.

Although Helte’s work history is not very typical for the head of an employer’s organization.

“After all, I have a pretty exceptional career and background for this position,” he says himself.

Helle started her working career on the other side of the labor market, working for employee organizations. According to him, the choice was more pragmatic than principled.

“I wanted to do the work of a labor market lawyer and I had the opportunity to do it on the employee side. When I graduated in 1997, the job situation was still pretty bad after the recession. It was not an ideological choice.”

Helte’s strategy in the job market has been that he does his job as well as possible and throws himself into it “pretty much”.

“I trust that when I do my job well and with passion, the next door will always open. Whence? I’ve never planned that in advance.”

Technology industry collective agreement negotiations are currently underway. Employers are represented in them by a separate Association of Technological Industries Employers.

Helle says that she hopes that the negotiations will reach a solution during November.

“Those negotiations are not easy this time either, and they really can’t be. There are such big issues at stake that it is only natural that negotiations are difficult.”

In line with the line chosen by the employers’ organizations, Helle says that the government’s labor market reforms will not be so dramatic in the end.

Helle emphasizes that the purpose is not to lower anyone’s wages, but to make business operations so productive and successful that the development of wages can also be positive.

In Helte’s opinion, it requires a movement towards company-specific, local agreements.

“Of course there are situations where employees are exploited or collective agreements are violated. This happens too. But I see no connection between the changes being made now and this kind of criminal activity. We have no need to screw it up. On the contrary, we are of the opinion that these sanctions can be increased in the case of misconduct.”

The government the labor market reforms carried out or underway are to the liking of the employers’ organizations, but they have repeatedly criticized the immigration policy.

Helle also reiterates her concerns about the matter.

“The economic situation is bad and the growth prospects of companies are bad, and there is still nothing encouraging in sight about when growth will start again. Even in this situation, companies highlight the availability of experts as the most important bottleneck for growth,” says Helle.

According to Helte, it is quite clear that Finland will not survive without work-based immigration.

“No Finnish company anywhere in Finland can think that it can do well with Finnish or Finnish-speaking employees. Skilled people from abroad are needed.”

United States is one of Finland’s most important export countries. Helle says that she was watching the country’s presidential elections on the spot in the capital, Washington.

According to Helte, it is clear that the election was won by the Republicans Donald Trump is now better prepared for the start of his presidency, and quick decisions can be expected.

“During the first 6-12 months, we will certainly see very concrete and rapid policy changes in the United States.”

According to Helte, it became clear from the discussions in the United States that the focus of the United States is now on China.

“It means that the focus is not on Europe. Of course, this is pretty bad news for Ukraine. Europe’s role and responsibility for what will happen in Ukraine will certainly be much more direct. As well as our role and responsibility for how European security is handled.”

Export companies the big question is related to Trump’s promised tariffs. According to Helte, it seems that some kind of customs fees should be expected. However, their final form or level is not yet known, he emphasizes.

Restrictions on international trade are not good news for Finland. US tariffs could very well be reacted to in China and Europe with similar countermeasures. Helle states that a possible accelerating tariff competition would be a really bad thing for a country like Finland.

At the same time, he wants to emphasize that you just have to live with the new situation.

“Global trade is not coming to an end, there is always someone doing well in the market. We now have to think about the means by which Finnish industry can survive. And it is quite clear that the EU needs to get its own competitiveness right.”