One in ten employees in the food industry already has a foreign background. Workplaces must ensure that everyone in the work community is treated equally.

Workplaces in the food industry have become increasingly international at a rapid pace. Employers and employees want to strengthen workplace communities where everyone, regardless of their background, feels welcome. This topic brought together the industry’s employer and employee organizations, ETL, SEL, MVL, and Pro, at a joint Future Forum held in Helsinki on 23 September 2026.

Employees with a foreign background are already an integral part of the Finnish food industry. According to the statistics 11.1 percent of all people employed in the sector in 2023 are with a foreign background. In 2010, the number was 4.1 percent.

Internationalization has progressed rapidly in the food industry, although regional differences remain significant. Nevertheless, the trend clearly indicates that internationalization is a part of the sector’s future.

At the same time, workplaces in the industry have become increasingly multicultural and multilingual. Diversity is already a reality in today’s working life, not merely a question for the future.

Building the Future of Working Life Together

The first joint Future Forum organized by employer and employee organizations in the food industry focused on what increasing internationalization means in practice and how workplaces can successfully embrace multiculturalism.

The food industry is a sector of critical importance to Finland’s security of supply and will continue to require skilled employees in the future. Alongside securing access to competent workers, it is equally important to ensure that workplaces are safe and inclusive communities for all employees.

The Future forum featured presentations on food industry professionals and multicultural workplaces, as well as practical examples of how companies can strengthen every employee’s experience of being an equal member of the workplace community.

Success in a multicultural workplace is built through everyday actions. These include good orienting and good interaction and communication, and clear shared rules and practices. Everyone in the workplace must be treated fairly and respectfully. Responsibility for respectful behavior and adherence to shared workplace practices belongs to every member of the work community.

Employer and employee organizations consider it important that discussions about the industry’s internationalization and multicultural working life take place collaboratively. A well-functioning workplace community is built on shared understanding and cooperation, requiring the involvement of employers, supervisors, and employees.