Illustration: Nikki Schmidt

On October 16, more than 150 participants from across Sweden gathered in Linköping for Switch to Sweden—The Summit. The conference’s focus was on sharing knowledge, building networks, and developing concrete strategies to meet the growing need for international labor.

While Sweden is known for its high quality of life and innovation, the country faces challenges in competing for international talent. The demand for skilled workers, particularly in technology, research, and sustainability, is rapidly increasing, and without a robust strategy and process, Sweden risks falling behind other European countries in attracting talent.

The shortage of skilled workers is currently the biggest growth barrier for companies in Sweden. At the same time, we are facing a demographic challenge with only a slight increase in the working-age population in the coming years,” said Mats Wessman from Tillväxtverket (Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth).

Mats Wessman from Tillväxtverket. Photo: Crelle

Key Takeaways from Switch to Sweden

At the conference, we reviewed the progress made in the Switch to Sweden project. Over the past three years, the project has focused on increasing the number of successful matches between international academics and Swedish companies.

We are good at attracting international talent to our universities in Sweden, but we need to do more to retain them after their studies. That’s why the work of Switch to Sweden, which matches academic talent with industry, is so important,” explained Cecilia Sjöberg from Vinnova.

One of the key challenges that Switch to Sweden helps international talents overcome is creating strong professional networks.

Seventy percent of jobs in Sweden are filled through contacts, something that international talents often lack when they arrive here. Therefore, it’s important to create meeting places where companies and talents can connect and build the networks necessary for success,” said Anna Broeders from Linköping Science Park.

Hela Galvis from Linköping Science Park highlighted concrete results from the project. “Through Switch to Sweden, we have successfully engaged 280 companies and registered over 1,000 international academic talents, primarily within STEM fields, on our matchmaking platform, resulting in more than 200 successful matches so far. In a special initiative with Marie Curie Fellows, a specialized group of researchers, we facilitated the hiring process of over 10 researchers directly into private companies.”

 

Photos: Crelle

Is Sweden’s Image Changing?

Sweden’s brand and image play a direct role in its ability to attract and retain international talent.

There is some concern that Sweden’s image is deteriorating. However, it’s important to remember that media coverage does not equate to people’s perceptions of Sweden. Our data shows that Sweden’s image remains stable and positive. Sweden ranks highly globally in terms of interest in living and working here,” said Douglas Washburn from Svenska Institutet.

 

Douglas Washburn from Svenska Institutet. Photo: Crelle

Sustainability – A Key Part of Sweden’s Brand

Desirée Ödén and Emelie Gallego discussed how Skellefteå Municipality collaborates with the Swedish Embassy in Madrid and Svenska Institutet to attract Spanish engineers to the green transition in northern Sweden. With thousands of new job opportunities on the horizon, the region relies heavily on international expertise to meet future challenges. The potential is enormous, as Spain has 750,000 active engineers, one of the highest numbers in Europe.

We want to position Sweden as a leader in the green transition. The image of Sweden in Spain is already positive and stable; it’s seen as innovative and as a country where you can have a good work-life balance. Spain also ranks Sweden as number one in terms of a sustainable future. However, our challenge is to increase awareness of Sweden, as overall knowledge remains low,” said Emelie Gallego from the Swedish Embassy in Madrid.

A Holistic Approach – Examples from Dalarna, Gothenburg, and Skellefteå

It’s not enough to have an attractive workplace – talents are also looking for a place to live. Dalarna Science Park and its partners have developed the In Dalarna project, which helps companies highlight both career opportunities and quality of life in the region.

Our goal is to transform the image of Dalarna from a traditional holiday destination into an innovative and modern career region. We work with continuous communication and marketing, using storytelling, a strong graphic identity, and local ambassadors to spread the message,” explained Ann-Louise Larsson from Dalarna Science Park.

Another example of long-term integration and establishment is International House Gothenburg, a meeting place for international talents offering activities, services, and guidance for smooth integration into Swedish society. Lovisa Bohlin from International House Gothenburg emphasized the importance of supporting accompanying family members. “Eighty percent of those we meet at International House in Gothenburg are spouses. It’s a specific group that Sweden also needs to care for.”

Photos: Crelle

In Skellefteå, they have adopted a holistic perspective as well.

There is a historic transformation happening in Skellefteå right now. We want to attract the right skills, but we also need to focus on the people who have those skills. We must collaborate with various stakeholders to ensure that the whole family feels welcome and at home,” said Desirée Ödén from Skellefteå Municipality.

With the ongoing developments in Skellefteå, Desirée encouraged all participants at the conference to come together and ensure that the international talents who have come to Sweden and are greatly needed can stay and continue working with other employers as well.

Collaboration is Essential

To successfully attract and retain international labor, close collaboration is required between national agencies, regions, and municipalities. Government agencies have the authority and responsibility for the processes of attracting, integrating, and retaining international talent. However, it is the regions and municipalities that work directly with the talents and companies.

Mats Wessman from Tillväxtverket shared insights from the government’s Work in Sweden initiative, where Tillväxtverket, along with nine agencies and Business Sweden, work to improve coordination and predictability of governmental efforts to support international talent attraction.

Insights from the Private Sector

During a panel discussion led by Lena Miranda, CEO of Linköping Science Park, representatives from Worldish, Nira Dynamics, and Toyota Material Handling Europe shared their experiences in recruiting international talents. All three companies emphasized that international employees not only bring valuable skills but also enrich company culture and promote innovation.

One recurring theme in the panel was language. Both Nira Dynamics and Toyota Material Handling Europe have switched to English as their working language to facilitate recruitment, while Worldish only requires Swedish for roles involving customer contact. However, the panel agreed that language is important for talents to integrate into society, and they support their employees in various ways.

Abhishek Jacob from Worldish, Andreea Bernicu from Toyota Material Handling and Marika Ericson from NIRA Dynamics AB. Photo: Crelle

A Research Perspective

Jonas Söderlund and Karin Bredin from Linköping University are researchers following the Switch to Sweden project. They shared important insights from both international and Swedish research on the motivations of international talents and their journey from education to the job market. They emphasized the value of helping students build networks and developing courses that provide exposure to industry and business.

Karin Bredin also pointed out that companies should see international talent as a competitive advantage. “International talents are not just engineers with Swedish degrees; they are also individuals with strong intercultural competence – an asset that can provide significant benefits to companies.

Educating a PhD student in Sweden costs an average of 5 million SEK – a substantial investment. Despite the fact that many international researchers want to stay in the country after their education, only 38% remain in Sweden three years after completing their doctorate. Therese Lindkvist from Linköping University and Euraxess presented the report “Can Sweden Afford to Lose Them?“, which highlights what Swedish universities, businesses, and other organizations can do to support international researchers in finding career opportunities outside of academia, thus retaining their expertise in the country.

Sandra Slotte from Arcada University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, Finland, spoke about how universities work with international students. She also conducts research on how to improve employers’ ability to recruit international talent. She highlighted an important distinction between employability – the employability of individuals – and employerability – the ability of companies to hire. “There is plenty of research on employability, but very little on how companies can improve their ability to recruit internationally. We need to find a balance between the two and start discussing the employer’s role in the process,” she emphasized.

Photos: Crelle

The Road Ahead

For Sweden, attracting international talent is a crucial issue in meeting future challenges, and the conference in Linköping demonstrated that we have the engagement and ideas to drive development forward. Next year, Tillväxtverket will take the lead in hosting the next edition of the conference for national, regional, and local public actors working to attract and retain international talents to ensure future skills supply. Meanwhile, the important work continues across the country.

See you next year!