Finding a job on the Swedish labour market can be a long and difficult journey, despite a good education and working experience.
In Sweden today there are approximately 65,000 people with a non-Swedish background and an academic education who are unemployed, and 211,000 immigrants are registered as job-seeking.
The unemployment situation has alienated people with relevant education and competence, with major consequences for society.
This issue is high on the political agenda, but things are unfortunately moving slowly. The labor market measures introduced by the government are all steps in the right direction, but far from sufficient. Needless to say, the social costs associated with a large group of people standing outside the labor market are vast.
Since late autumn 2010 Swedbank took the initiative to create 17 apprentice places with a duration of six months within our branches in the south part of Sweden in co-operation with the Swedish Employment Center. We knew for a fact that in Malmö alone there are 177 people with higher economics qualifications looking for work and our branches will need to employ a large number of new staff members in different positions since we have a large retirement challenge within the next years.
The combination of the two above has been:
1. for well qualified people with a non-Swedish background to be given the opportunity of a six-month trainee position;
2. which can hopefully lead to further employment. In Mach 2012 the first workshop and evaluation with both the trainees and branch officers was conducted. During this first period our candidates undertook training and education as well as work experience under supervision from an appointed supervisor from the staff.
The set up
The project is conducted in close cooperation with the Swedish Employment Center.
1. We started by matching 32 candidates from different non Nordic countries with relevant curriculums looking for a work opportunity at a bank. The Swedish regulations are clear on apprentice placements and with our previous positive experience from Young Jobs the procedures around the placements are clear and efficient.
2. We held a “speed-dating” activity for less than three hours at the bank office where all the candidates undertook interviews with two branch officers with the same questionnaires (16 bank representatives in total that day).
3. The feedback came within a week and all candidates received answer and information: 11 candidates were welcomed back in three to six months but were told to work further on their Swedish language studies and 17 people started in 14 different offices from November to January and we still hope to arrange placements for another four candidates.
The outcome
According to the first evaluation results, 60 percent of our apprentices in the project have been offered a job, which is very positive. We strongly believe that through this well functioning process we manage to overcome some of the challenges or obstacles we meet ourselves: attitude problem and the risk factors connected to high recruitment costs.
In the future the aim of the project is not only to create trainee positions at the actual branches, but more importantly to encourage and help the bank’s corporate clients to offer trainee positions themselves. The employees at Swedbank’s 340 branches in Sweden have close relationships with local business owners as well as with municipality representatives. The bank’s employees have a good understanding of the local companies’ operations as well as their needs and are therefore in a good position to identify possible job openings and reliable since we can present our own experience in argument.
Responsibilities and benefits
The employer does not have to make any guarantee of employment after six months. If the employer feels that the candidate should undertake some courses to strengthen their possibilities to be hired, then the Employment Service Center should provide such an education.
The first three weeks the employer is doing a valuation of the merits and skills to be presented to the candidate and Employment Service Center. For this assignment there is payment of approx €1200 to the employer.
Every candidate is paid (amount depending on their insurance level) a minimum of approximately €400/month by the state and also there is insurance covered by the Swedish Employment Center for the candidate at the work place.
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