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Internship scheme helping Sweden’s international residents land jobs

University educated but struggling to get your foot on Sweden’s employment ladder? A government-backed internship programme is enabling academics to make use of their skills and helping 7 out of 10 participants land permanent jobs. The Local finds out more.

Published: 16 December 2019 05:00 CET
Internship scheme helping Sweden’s international residents land jobs
Syrian civil engineer Mohammad Homsy. Photo: Jobbsprånget

Syrian civil engineer Mohammad Homsy moved to Sweden two years ago to join his family who had immigrated to southern Sweden. With a BSc in engineering management and construction, he had worked as a manager on numerous projects in the UAE before moving to Scandinavia. 

Like many expats, Homsy made it his business to learn Swedish and enrolled in a Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) course. When he was confident in the language, the engineer, who is fluent in English as well as his native Arabic, was eager to get back into the workforce.

However, he found that just picking up where he left off in his career was no easy task. That was when he heard about Jobbsprånget, a nationwide internship programme targeted towards academics with degrees in engineering, architecture, science, or business/finance.

“There is an active Facebook group for engineers and people were talking about the programme. It has a good reputation so I decided to apply and got an internship with a Swedish company,” Homsy tells The Local.  

Click the banner below to apply for Jobbsprånget’s next round of internships

Homsy completed his internship with construction firm Byggmästar´n i Skåne AB and says he was challenged to prove himself during his four-month stint. 

“The internship was in two parts: one at the office and one on site. I was given general tasks from all activities and got involved with many details and elements of the work. My supervisor was very helpful and gave me the chance to show what I could do.” 

Jobbsprånget has a 70 percent employment rate after completion of the four month programme. It significantly reduces the time it takes for newcomers to land a job in Sweden, which can otherwise take between 3-7 years. Applicants don’t need to speak Swedish as the programme language is in English, but do need to be registered at Arbetsförmedlingen, the Swedish Public Employment Service. You can read more about the requirements for application here.

Homsy says you get back what you put into the internship. 

“Four months is enough time to prove yourself and make things happen. But you have to ask afterwards if there is potential for a job; you have to fight for it! I got positive feedback and established good contacts as a result of doing the programme.” 

Homsy is among the 7 out of 10 participants who find employment after the internship. He is presently employed with Byggmästar´n i Skåne AB as a work supervisor.   

Mohammad Homsy. Photo: Supplied

Non-European English-speaking graduates, who have recently arrived in Sweden and are looking for work, are a priority group for Jobbsprånget, which first launched in 2016.

Companies that are collaborating with Jobbsprånget include Volvo Group, SKF and Unilever. A total of 150 employers are participating in the programme at 50 different locations all across Sweden. 

Key to the programme’s success is giving academics a chance to demonstrate their potential in a variety of environments. Newcomers to Sweden will get introduced to the domestic labour market and get relevant experience in their area of competence as well as make valuable contacts. 

Click here to apply for Jobbsprånget

Another success story is Manasa Rao who moved to Stockholm three years ago with her husband. The Indian native had worked in finance previously and wanted to resume her career in Sweden. 

“I realised for my profile (finance), an internship is the best way to enter the job market and this was the only programme that provided multiple opportunities in one place,” she tells The Local. 

Rao carried out her internship at Zurich Insurance and says that her four months there went better than she expected. 

Photo: Manassa Rao. Photo: Supplied

“It was very ideal by all means. Zurich was very open to me and provided opportunities to learn and contribute. Not only did they help me grow in knowledge, but they also made me feel competent. It exceeded my expectations for an internship!” she says enthusiastically. 

Rao has since taken up a permanent position as an accountant with Zurich Insurance. She says that there are stark differences in work culture between Sweden and India. 

“I previously worked for a custodian bank in India for more than five years. The Swedish work environment is not hierarchical, no cut throat competition, more straightforward work culture and a good work/life balance.” 

With backing from the Wallenberg foundations and the Swedish government, Jobbsprånget comes with solid credentials. Both Hamsy and Rao are testament to the programme’s success and they are adamant that Jobbsprånget put them on the path to a Swedish career. 

“You are not the same after doing the programme as you learn about how Swedish society works. You develop new skills. I would recommend Jobbsprånget as it gives you a chance. Just work hard,” advises engineer Hamsy. 

Accountant Rao concludes, “You get multiple opportunities for English-speaking expats in one place, a good networking opportunity and fast track to the jobs market in Sweden. Networking is important and I gained my confidence back after a two-year job search in Stockholm.”

The next application process for Jobbsprånget opens on December 16th and runs until January 16th 2020. Click here to apply.

This article was produced by The Local Creative Studio and sponsored by Jobbsprånget.

 
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READER INSIGHTS

How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who’ve been there, done that

The Swedish job market poses unique challenges for newcomers. The Local's readers share their best tips for cracking the career code.

Published: 10 April 2024 11:32 CEST
Updated: 13 April 2024 15:50 CEST
How to find a job in Sweden: Five tips from those who've been there, done that

Network, network, network!

A statistic that often gets tossed around is that seven out of ten jobs in Sweden are obtained through personal connections, and there’s no doubt that a good network is crucial to your job hunt, making the labour market extra challenging for newcomers to the country.

In fact, networking was the main tip mentioned by The Local’s readers.

“The job market is quite hot in Sweden, and talent is in short supply. People hiring do not have a lot of time to find the right talent, and tips from friends, colleagues and former colleagues are the way to first, find out organisations are hiring, and secondly, get your CV on the short list,” said Kyle, a Canadian reader who works in innovation management in Gothenburg.

“If you are going for a major employer like Volvo, network gets you in the door, as HR does not have much to do with hiring… the hiring managers do all of it and have no time, due to the insane number of consensus meetings. If you are looking for smaller organisations, they have even less time to find people, and networking is their primary way to find talent,” he added.

NETWORKING IN SWEDEN:

Some of the networking tips readers mentioned were going to job fairs, getting an internship to help you establish connections in your preferred field, joining clubs (this could be anything from your local gardening association to meetups for coders, but focus on clubs that may be popular among people working in your chosen field), and drawing on your organic network of friends, neighbours and others.

Don’t neglect the groundwork

The saying “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” is getting worn out (and people may look at you funny if you turn up to interviews in a Batman suit), but there’s truth to the notion of making sure you know what you want – and preparing for it.

In other words, don’t wait for a job ad to appear before you start to customise your CV and figure out what skill set you need. Create your CV now so that you’re ready to tweak it to your dream job – you could even have a general look at job ads in your field to see what requirements are needed. And don’t forget to spruce up your LinkedIn profile so that it fits with your career goals.

“I believe that several factors contribute to successfully landing a desirable job in Sweden. It’s essential to prepare to meet the requirements beyond just having a university degree. Many individuals realise these requirements only after completing their studies when they start searching for a job, which can be too late,” said Adnan Aslam from Pakistan, who works as a food inspector.

“I recommend identifying the job advertisements for positions you aspire to hold in the future and then preparing for those requirements during your studies. For me, acquiring a basic level of proficiency in the Swedish language and obtaining a Swedish driving licence were crucial. I pursued these goals during my studies and was able to secure a desirable job before graduating,” he added.

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Felipe Cabral even has a GPT assistant trained on his own CVs and old cover letters, and said the set-up only takes ten minutes if you already have your documents. “With that in place, you can give instructions like: Read this job description and create a tailored version of my CV and letter for it. (…) Remember to always review and ask it not to create data aside from your documents.”

Be flexible and ready to adapt

Moving to a new place inevitably means having to learn not just the practicalities such as how to write a CV or which websites to use to look for job openings, but also learning how to navigate a new culture with all its unspoken expectations.

Swedish workplaces are generally less hierarchical than many other countries, but that doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want whenever you want without anyone raising an eyebrow. Swedes are usually direct, but be careful of being too abrasive or boastful: raising your voice, even during a spirited argument, or banging your own drum to show off your skills may not go down well.

“Talk, deliberate, complain like a Swede and you’ll come across like you know what the job entails, so your trustworthiness increases,” said an Indian data analyst who preferred to remain anonymous.

“Office politics are just as strong in Sweden as anywhere else. The flat hierarchy is deceiving as social hierarchy is enforced quite a bit in that lack of formal hierarchy. Take your time in learning these dynamics wherever you work before revealing your talent and capabilities. Expect those internal politics to happen, and they won’t hurt so much when they do,” said Kyle, the Canadian reader in Gothenburg.

This article about Swedish office politics may be useful.

Stay true to yourself

Adapting to your surroundings is one thing. Completely changing who you are is another.

For one thing, your happiness is as important as your career progression, and for another, your foreignness need not be an impediment: it’s also a skill that sets you apart from the rest. It means you have unique experience, and also, in the right setting, provides an opportunity to sometimes violate those social rules we mentioned above, because people assume you will, anyway.

“Trust is key. Build trust in your network, work with integrity. It’s OK to violate jantelagen if you are maintaining integrity. Sometimes your outsider and more honest/open opinion will burn bridges, especially those that may feel threatened by talent. But it will build trust with other colleagues who see it as brave and more trustworthy to work with,” said Kyle from Canada.

Hunker down for the long haul

We don’t want to scare you, because there are plenty of examples of people who quickly find their dream job in Sweden and settle into their new workplace, enjoying perks such as long summer holidays, generous parental leave and the famous work-life balance.

But if you do find it tougher than you expected: know that you’re not alone.

Several readers who responded to the survey said they were still trying to find a job in Sweden.

“I found jobs all over Europe but not here. They say they have a lack of experienced senior engineers but the don’t seem to be doing much to solve this,” said a Brazilian in Gothenburg.

A reader from Bangladesh said she was “at a loss” as to how to make a career change from her current AI role in Stockholm, despite many years of experience as an IT project manager.

“Over the past 18 months, I’ve submitted over 600 applications to various organisations. Unfortunately, despite being overqualified for some positions, I’ve faced rejections at every turn, from both large and small companies. The job market here, especially for foreign-born women, feels overwhelmingly challenging,” she said, adding that the struggle had impacted her mental health.

The Local has on several occasions reported on foreign residents’ struggle to get a foot on the Swedish job ladder, with many facing hurdles such as employers’ unfamiliarity with international degrees, discrimination, or a lack of network that can provide paths into a company.

So during the job hunt, don’t forget to care for yourself. Share your concerns with fellow job-seekers, ask for help and join networking groups – this is good not just for creating new contacts, but also in terms of your social well-being and meeting people who are in a similar situation.

And finally, as one British reader in Stockholm advised, keep looking: “Be open-minded with the opportunities that present themselves. It isn’t an easy market to enter and doesn’t feel inclusive.” But he added, “don’t give up”.

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