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‘Swedish people love it, but they find it quite odd’

Meet the web developer and entrepreneur using traditional Scottish ceilidh dancing to break the ice with Swedes.

'Swedish people love it, but they find it quite odd'
Scottish entrepreneur William Macdonald. Photo: Michael Campanella

During the day you might find William Macdonald doing all manner of coding things beyond the understanding of many of us, but at night – four times a year at least – you will find him coaxing Swedes and other foreigners into loosening up on the dance floor.

In November 2015, around St. Andrew's Day (Scotland's national holiday), Macdonald organized his first ceilidh in Stockholm. A ceilidh (pronounced: ˈkā-lē (kejli)) is a traditional Gaelic dance with folk music. It has been in the Scot's blood since his childhood in western Scotland.

“I went to a school by Loch Lomond, and I've been doing ceilidhs since I was seven. It was like gym glass. And it is: you get hot and sweaty doing this. We did it at secondary school too, and then any time there's a wedding in Scotland,” Macdonald explains to The Local.

Having moved to Stockholm almost ten years ago with his then wife, a Swede whom he met at a pub in London, Macdonald started looking for ceilidh events in Sweden's capital.

“There was a ceilidh group on Meetup.com, someone else had set it up, but he'd never actually organized any ceilidhs. No one ever did anything about it. And I was really trying to find a ceilidh, so I then contacted this guy and said 'do you mind if I try to organize one?' He said 'go for it!' So I took control of this group,” he says.


Musicians performing at one of Ceilidh Stockholm's events. Photo: Sofia Nahringbauer 

From there he began working with three other people, forming 'Ceilidh Stockholm', who have helped to make a success of the venture. The third one took place at the end of August and the next one is pencilled in for just before St. Andrew's Day on November 27th.

Macdonald speaks of wanting “to organize something that's fun, lively and energetic”.

The ceilidhs appear to be getting bigger and more professional each time. On the topic of the past summer's ceilidh, he says:

“We got a live band this time, which was a first. For the others we had just been using Spotify to play the music – because it's very hard to find a ceilidh band in Stockholm.”

At his ceilidhs you'll find everyone from Swedes who studied at universities in Scotland or the rest of the UK, to Stockholm residents from Hong Kong who went to international schools where ceilidh dancing is still taught today. Not forgetting his fellow Scots in the city, of course.

While Sweden's licensing laws among other things present obstacles, one of the aims for the future is to find a bigger venue than the Grammofon bar in Stockholm's Norrmalm, where previous events have been held.

Before then however, Ceilidh Stockholm could be set to expand in other ways.

“I've been contacted by someone who has a good idea – to turn ceilidh dancing parties into team-building exercises, because a lot of offices do these things like go off and build a raft,” Macdonald reveals.

“At least with a ceilidh, it's cheap, simple, a lot more fun I think.”


Ceilidhs aren't for the shy. Photo: Sofia Nahringbauer

Our conversation turns to Swedish work culture and Stockholm's reputation of being the startup capital of Scandinavia.

Macdonald, who still runs a web-hosting company he created back in the UK alongside his full-time job, bemoans: “I've had a go at setting up a business here in Sweden, but it's just a lot of paperwork, book keeping… a lot of hassle.”

Conversely, he says that his problems with Sweden from a business perspective are made up for by its family law and what it's like to work here:

“When you're an employee here, it's a great place, it's a fantastic place. I was married but we divorced unfortunately, but here the way it works is that the father and the mother share custody of the children. You work it out among yourselves, but if both of you agree to it, you share the custody, you share the costs, there are no alimony payments, everything is shared down the middle, and I think that's a wonderful thing. Whereas in Britain, fathers only get the kids every second weekend, and I would hate that. It's really bad for the children.”


Macdonald taking part. Photo: Sofia Nahringbauer

“Also, when you have a job here and have children, people leave to pick their kids up from daycare at about four o'clock. In offices like mine, half the office goes at four! And it's a wonderful system, I think it's so good here. If you come back from maternity or paternity leave and say 'I want to work 80 percent', they will tend to accommodate that too, especially if you have children,” he adds.

Running the ceilidhs has also taught Macdonald a great deal about online marketing and the social media age, he comments:

“When I sent out a newsletter I said 'Thank you for coming! Here's a link to our Twitter account and our new webpage, and here are some photographs from the ceilidh event'. The only thing people clicked on was the link to get photographs of themselves. That's all people care about. They're very narcissistic!”

The money raised by Ceilidh Stockholm goes to Feedback Madagascar, a charity he praises as being resourceful, effective and “small enough that you can still see what the money is going to”.


Another of the dances. Photo: Sofia Nahringbauer

Macdonald is trying to make a difference, as well as come some way towards introducing Swedes to Scottish up-close, fast-paced dancing with complete strangers.

“Swedish people love them. When we first started it they were a bit perturbed by having to dance with strangers – being thrown around very quickly and all of a sudden you’re in someone else’s arms,” he laughs.

“So they find it quite odd I think. But overall they like it, once they’ve had a bit of alcohol.”

Article written by The Local's intern Jack Schofield.

For members

WORKING IN SWEDEN

How to switch to a career in Sweden’s booming gaming industry

Sweden's gaming industry is crying out for top international talent, but the skills shortage also creates opportunities for professionals in other fields to switch to a career in gaming. Senior experts share their best tips with The Local.

How to switch to a career in Sweden's booming gaming industry

Home to world-famous gaming studios like Mojang, King and DICE – the creators of Minecraft, Candy Crush and Battlefield, respectively – Swedish games have been downloaded nearly seven billion times. Every fourth person on the planet has played a game made in Sweden.

And the number of new gaming companies and employees is only increasing, despite concerns about the impact of the pandemic, according to a report from Sweden’s gaming industry association

In 2022, Swedish gaming studios increased turnover by 18 percent to 32.6 billion kronor, setting a new record. Combined, the turnover of the 23 listed computer game companies amounted to 61 billion kronor – a threefold increase since 2020 and almost twice as much as in 2021.

However, the talent shortage is an ongoing struggle, and the industry relies heavily on foreigners to plug the gaps.

“There’s a massive skills shortage, especially on the technical side, due to the sheer amount of coding required. I think the industry wants to do more to keep growing the Swedish game phenomena, but the talent shortage hinders us,” says Ludvig Moberg Edenbäck, people experience partner at Mojang Studios.

But if you’re a gaming newbie, how do you make the switch?

Bringing a fresh perspective could be your ultimate ability

Magdalena Björkman, a senior producer at Arrowhead Games, has a background in linguistics and started her career in the manufacturing industry back home in Poland.

“The gaming industry needs people from different backgrounds more than ever. We really need to encourage people who bring different perspectives to the table to come in,” she says.

After studying Japanese, Björkman worked as a translator and coordinator, acting as a conduit between Polish and Japanese engineers. One day she stumbled across a job ad for a Polish games developer looking for an assistant producer who could handle localisation, and eventually started looking for opportunities outside of Poland, landing a role at King in Sweden.

“Swedish and Polish work culture is totally different. I had to get used to not having to be the loudest person in the room to get my opinion across, which I actually really like. It was really, really nice working for King. It was a lot more collaborative. In general, Sweden felt a lot more progressive than Poland.”

Björkman knows other linguists who switched to gaming too and says being able to interpret and translate what people are saying to others is a crucial skill, especially as a producer.

“Whatever you do, you always end up working with people, communication and translation. I’ve always been trying to connect people, and as a games producer, being able to translate different perspectives to help collaboration. Gaming is also a multinational crowd. So if you come from linguistics and you know how to work with different people and cultures, it’s a good fit.”

You don’t need to know how to build games – but you need to be passionate about them

Luis Cascante, currently chief of staff at Rovio and head of the board of education for Futuregames, stresses that this is an industry that values passion. “If you don’t care about games at all, don’t bother,” he says. Gaming isn’t just a business, it’s a creative art form, and you’re unlikely to get hired if the interest and passion aren’t there.

“I’ve worked with studio founders who basically tell everyone they expect passion, whatever their role is, and if they don’t have it, there’s no place for them in their studio,” says Cascante.

Around half of Mojang’s staff have a technical background, and 30 percent are foreigners. Photo: Melker Dahlstrand/imagebank.sweden.se

Mojang’s Moberg Edenbäck, who is an avid gamer, agrees that demonstrating an interest in gaming helps, although it’s not a strict requirement for all roles.

“At Mojang, we’re in a unique spot because we’ve been around for 15 years and a lot of people that reach out to us have grown up with Minecraft. Sometimes Minecraft is even the reason they started coding, and working here is basically their dream job,” he says.

“But if that’s not the case, one thing people can do to demonstrate interest is to have hobby projects. A lot of people create games in their spare time, or designers and artists create characters just for fun. If you do that, it’s definitely a positive.”

Identify your transferable skills to help you level up

Like any other industry, there are plenty of transferable skills that make your application more desirable. Coders have a slight advantage, as games are built using programming languages (specifically C++ and Java), putting experienced coders in high demand.

“If you’re a C++ developer and you have some experience, even if it’s not with games, you will always be on the map. There is absolutely no shortage of roles that you can apply for,” says Luis Cascante.

Many blockbuster games are built using C++, and experience with 3D creation tools like Unreal Engine and Unity provides the easiest entry points if you come from a technical background.

Cascante says data analysis is another sought-after skill: “It’s not necessarily part of hands-on game creation, but data analysts are definitely in demand. At Rovio, none of our data analysts are from Europe, because we simply can’t find them.”

“If you’re good at maths, statistics and SQL, studios are more likely to pick you up, even if you’re slightly more junior because there’s such a demand right now,” he adds.

DICE, headquartered in Stockholm, is one of the major players in the gaming industry. Photo: Melker Dahlstrand/imagebank.sweden.se

But it’s not all about coders.

“Producers, artists, designers, marketers and HR practitioners are all needed to successfully build, launch, and market a successful game,” adds Moberg Edenbäck.

Project management, product management and UX design are also highly transferable skill sets, with many people bringing this kind of expertise into gaming after starting out their careers in other industries.

Network, get a mentor and look for internships

Some practical tips Magdalena Björkman shares for those wanting to switch to gaming are to network, look for mentors, and keep an eye out for internships.

“People are very friendly in the gaming industry, so just talk to them! It’s easy to reach out and approach people as mentors, which can help a lot. Also, look for internships, and go to networking events,” she says.

“There are more opportunities now compared to ten years ago, with boot camps and such. I work with a producer at Arrowhead now who had a background in publishing, but he did a course, and now he’s a full-time game producer.”

However, she urges people not to take the decision to switch careers lightly.

“Gaming can be tough. You need to love what you’re doing, take care of yourself, and have other hobbies outside of gaming. It’s easy to get consumed,” she says.

Get an education in gaming

For those who are truly committed to switching to a career in gaming, studying at one of Stockholm’s specialised gaming schools may be an option (they also offer evening classes).

Unsurprisingly, Futuregames’ Cascante is a big advocate for gaming schools and believes they’re a great pathway into the industry for people with the interest but not the experience.

“I’m chairman of the board of education at Futuregames, and we see people in Stockholm are actually taking courses to break into the industry,” he says.

“They take around two and a half years, which sounds like a lot, but you get a lot of training and professional internships in studios. The schools are really good at matchmaking between companies and students. Often the students stay on after their internships, and if they don’t, they still get at least six months of real experience in the industry.”

Minecraft has sold more than 300 million copies, making it the best selling game ever. Photo: Melker Dahlstrand/imagebank.sweden.se

Other schools include the Sweden Game Area and The Game Assembly, which offer courses in everything from agile project management in gaming to game design and 3D modelling for artists. Most of Sweden’s gaming studios offer internships regularly, including Mojang.

Swedish universities also offer part-time remote modules in for example coding. It’s free to study at university in Sweden for EU citizens and for non-EU residents who are in Sweden on another permit than a student permit, so for example work permits or spouse permits.

Ride the post-boom wave

The gaming industry has a historic reputation for only hiring people with gaming experience, but Björkman believes this mindset is changing.

“In the past, the industry has been a little elitist. It used to be that you needed ten years of experience to get into gaming, but now that’s changing and it’s becoming more open. This is great because we need experience from different industries to bring new know-how and knowledge. We don’t need to do things the same way all the time,” she says.

This is no surprise. After substantial long-term success, it makes sense that a talent-strapped industry has to start casting its net a little wider.

The conclusion? As long as you’re passionate, proactive, and can offer a valuable new perspective, it’s definitely possible to switch to a career path in Sweden’s burgeoning gaming industry.

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