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My Swedish Career: ‘We wanted to make Lapland accessible to those with disabilities’

Paul Roberts swapped the sunny beaches of Cornwall for the snow and long winters of Swedish Lapland by setting up a tourism business aimed at people with physical disabilities.

Published: 9 November 2020 19:59 CET
My Swedish Career: 'We wanted to make Lapland accessible to those with disabilities'
Paul Roberts and wife Maria outside their guesthouse. Photo: Private

The Friendly Moose guesthouse was a way to combine Paul's career as a sports coach with his wife Maria's experience in catering, hospitality and management.

“My favourite part of my job, and by far the most rewarding, was the large disability tennis programme that we had set up and developed. I got a huge buzz from helping people of all abilities to discover that they could play tennis and loved seeing them go on to make friends, have fun, get fitter, build confidence and achieve success through tennis,” says Paul.

The idea to relocate to northern Sweden had come to him gradually through repeated winter trips to the region: “We had that strong feeling of wanting to take on another challenge and adventure in life, before it was too late.”

Hoping to apply their experience to an accessible winter tourism business, they looked for a suitable property in summer 2018, and found a riverside house with views over to Finland. Paul says the location is both convenient for the local town and for what the nearby nature has to offer – from fishing under the midnight sun to husky rides. 

“We count ourselves very lucky to have found a part of the world where the locals are so friendly and welcoming. We have so many really super friends here, including some who we met and helped us on that very first visit,” he says.

MY SWEDISH BUSINESS:


Daughter Lilly-Fe with an elk. Photo: Private

The business offers a range of activities from sports to seeing the Northern lights and festive visits to Father Christmas, all designed to be accessible for wheelchair users. In summer, spring and autumn, the activities are adapted to the season featuring trips to an elk farm and scenic forest walks. Paul and Maria are directly involved in all aspects from grounds maintenance and cleaning to marketing and working with guests. 

“It's a lot of work, but creating the best possible holidays and experiences we can for our guests, especially those who have additional needs, is something we love doing. It's so magical when we get to see these guests enjoying husky sled rides, seeing the northern lights, stroking a moose, meeting our Santa, making a fire in the snowy forest and discovering this fantastic part of Sweden,” he says. 

“One other thing I especially love about the days up here, in addition to the fresh air, endless forests and the absence of crowds and traffic is how the seasons are so hugely different and how significantly they impact on the scenery, wildlife, the river and the daily rhythm of life.”

Having cleared the hurdles needed to set up a new business in a new country, the couple were thrown a curveball when the coronavirus pandemic hit, leaving the tourism industry struggling.


The guesthouse has two large wheelchair-accessible apartments on the ground floor, each with two bedrooms. Photo: Private

At the start of March 2020, the business was on track to break even with the bookings made up to then, but global uncertainty around the state of the pandemic and travel restrictions meant many guests cancelled and few have made bookings since then.

The municipality of Övertorneå has had very few confirmed cases of the virus, and Paul says “social distancing is pretty much a natural part of life here”. But given the fast-changing nature of the pandemic and restrictions in place across Europe, this hasn't protected the local tourism industry.

Adapting to the virus has meant accepting accommodation-only bookings (including for guests without a disability or additional needs), and working with a disability travel specialist in Stockholm to turn attention to domestic tourists. The couple have also been flexible regarding refunds and cancellations.

For now, Paul comments: “We will find a way to get through and, like everyone, look forward to a bright future when the worst of the virus is behind us all. While we struggle on business-wise we are thankful to be living in such a beautiful and friendly place.”

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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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