Engineer in Iran, taxi driver in Sweden. Trouble spots around the world force people to go to Sweden. However, upon arrival it is difficult to transfer their native country’s credits into a job. A lot points towards the fact that Swedish universities can do a lot to work as an important factor – but are they even interested in trying?
Early evening. In a garage at Örnvägen you find Taxi Lund’s office. They are almost empty except for the man at the switchboard. On the table are documents from the University of Sarajevo and the Swedish National Agency of Higher Education. In these documents one can read that Elmela Melunovic is “prepared for professional employment as an economist.” That being the case Elmela Melunovic she has never worked as an economist neither in Bosnia nor in Sweden. When she got off the train in Ystad 1992 she was first and foremost interested in finding somewhere to live and getting a residence permit.
“But after a while I started planning. I thought it would be fun to get a job that matched my education. That maybe I would get supplemental education through a company for a year or two, to get going with routines and things like that,” says Emela Melunovic.
However, that was not what would happen.
At the break out of the war in Bosnia, Emela Melunovic and her family fled the country and therefore she never had time to start working as an economist. The residence permit took a long time to get and not until 1994 she could move to Lund.
She studies Swedish for foreigners, SFI (Svenska För Invandrare), and takes supplemental courses in Swedish. Neither the Swedish National Agency for Higher Education nor the Arbetsförmedlingen (the employment office) thought that she needed to supplement her degree. Sometimes supplements can be needed if someone for example has studied economic theory and no accounting. But from Bosnia Emela Melunovic has great portions of accounting, economics, and international economics. When she went to the Arbetsförmedlingen things didn’t turn out as she had expected.
“They didn’t find any jobs matching my degree and instead I got a job as a public reliefworker for six months at Gunnesboskola. ”
That job was replaced by a training program to become a financial assistant. Maybe through a training program she would be able to get a foot in the right line of business.
“But when I finished the training program at Tetra Pak I was told they had no open spots. It was demotivating, I was disappointed and thought of moving back to Bosnia.”
When her third child was born in 2001 Elmela Melunovic decided to get a taxi drivers license. For a long time she considered the job temporary and as a way to make her money last longer. Today it’s about ten years ago she started to work as a taxi driver. She doesn’t know why things turned out the way they did.
“Something was wrong. I don’t know if it was Arbetsförmedlingen, the employers or the Swedish system in general. I didn’t get a job.”
“If you fall outside the Swedish labour market you have nothing. To get a job became harder and harder. I had no choice.”
In 2008 Higher Education and Research Minister Lars Lejonborg exclaimed that “people sometimes say that Sweden had the best educated taxi drivers in the world.” The stereotypical image of the overqualified cleaner and taxi driver is well established. Apparently not unfounded. Among academics born in foreign countries the level of employment is lower than among those born in Sweden. Unemployment can keep a tight grip around people for a very long time and the prospect of getting a job matching competence is not great.
“Numbers from the government says that it takes six to seven years for academics born in foreign countries to get a job matching their education. Many people give up. Their knowledge gets out of date and the motivation drops,” says Josefin Claeson, leader of the labor union Jusek’s work for diversity.
The need of labour is in many areas large. In the IT-sector the need for labour force is acute. Disastrously few want to become teachers in mathematics and science subjects. The spring semester of 2014 three people applied for the teacher training program in biology as their first choice at the University of Kristianstad
Prognoses from Statistics Sweden (Statistiska Centralbyrån) points towards the fact that Sweden will lack 30,000 engineers within 20 years, and even though the absence of labour force is a fact technological companies reject engineers with parents born in foreign countries. Around the time when Dagens Nyheter wrote about the problem half a year ago, Peter Larsson, from Sweden’s Engineers, expressed his frustration concerning the employers’ attitude and called this attitude a disgrace.
Already in 2006 the Swedish National Agency of Higher Education came to the conclusion that efforts concerning academics born in foreign countries are most effective if they are carried out at a university. Universities are right now responsible for the supplemental education. This type of education make a foreign degree match better with the need on the Swedish labour market. The efforts are primarily aimed at lawyers, teachers and nursing staff. Lund University conducted a program for nurses during a short amount of time but which discontinued due to few applicants.
During 2014 the Swedish Migration Board estimates that 60 000 people will apply for asylum in Sweden. Many of those are expected to come from Syria. Between 2012 and 2013 the Swedish Council for Higher Education found a 20% increase of those wanting to get academic credits translated into the Swedish grading system. On top of the list were those with a degree from Syria. The question is how many will require a supplemental education, and to what extent the universities will be responsible for this. The Swedish National Audit Office made clear in a report from 2011 that today’s allocations have to be dimensioned in accordance with the demand, and that the government doesn’t take enough responsibility.
The process of understanding why academics born in foreign countries are treated unfairly on the labour market is like playing Cluedo. In the labour market policy everybody is the bad guy. Sometimes the problem is strapped down to the need of attitude changes among the employers. Other put the responsibility on the foreign born people and say that they should help themselves to a greater extent not just waiting for something to happen. Some blame Arbetsförmedlingen and SFI. However, the opinion that the employers need to change their attitude is relatively common.
“It looks equally bad almost no matter what dimension of the labour market you are looking at. The probability of getting a job when born in a foreign country is always lower,” says Mats Hammerstedt.
Mira Necevska, expert on newly arrived foreigners at Arbetsförmedlingen in Lund, agrees.
“The difficulties are not to be found among those in search for work but among the employers who need to become more open minded.” It’s about taking risks. It’s about knowledge and ignorance. It’s easier to value a degree from Chalmers than a degree from another country.”
Arbetsförmedlingen has been criticised a lot for their work. In a report made by the Swedish Confederation of Professional Associations (SACO, Sveriges Akademikers Centralorganisation) participants has described the work done by Arbetsförmedlingen as woolly and some people think that they are not able to help academics. Up until 2010 the responsibility for the newly arrived foreigners’ establishment on the labour market was shared between local authorities and Arbetsförmedlingen. The responsibility has since then shifted to become entirely one of Arbetsförmedlingen. The advantage is that there is less need for coordination. The disadvantages have fast become apparent.
“Before there was specialised employment officers, but today they need to be specialised in all kinds of areas. The current labour market measures have also been exaggerated, one job hasn’t have to be the right job. When you have taken a job which you are overqualified for the effect is that you get stuck. It makes it difficult for you to go from an unqualified job to a qualified one,” says Josefin Claesson, conductor for Jusek’s diversity work.
In some places the university and Arbetsförmedlingen have succeeded in coordinating their work. Next to a ramshackle goods shed on Neptunigatan and opposite of the court of civil appeal you will find Gäddan. Inside the building Malmö University is conducting their version of the project Korta vägen (the short way). The educational program is financed by Arbetsförmedlingen for the purpose of breaking down the negative loops for foreign born academics on the labour market. Job should be applied for in accordance with the participant’s education, alternatively the participants should be made prepared for supplemental education.
“We try to look at what the participants strengths are in relation to the labour market and what could be done in order to increase their employability. A good career plan is the key to success. Furthermore, it’s about finding work places that fits, and where they can locate their trainee period,” says Knut Bergknut who is trainee coordinator at Korta vägen.
The participants practice Swedish specific for their profession, learn about Swedish working life and implement career planning and a trainee period. The program is adjusted to each individual’s needs.
“At the university we have a responsibility to help our professional brothers and sisters. Feedback the we often get from our participants is that they feel stimulated by the academic environment. They connect it to their time at university and feel at home. And if an academic gets a job thanks to us in a relatively short amount of time, Sweden saves money.”
A lot of what Korta vägen offers one can already find at Arbetsförmedlingen. The difference is the intensity. The participants are expected to be there eight hours a day five days a week. The step towards supplemental education will hopefully also be shorter when they are in the academic environment. The program is offered three times a year and the demand is not decreasing.
“Last time we had 100 people who wanted to start. We consider the demand for the program to be higher than the supply. In that way there is no harmony between how many applying and between those admitted”, says Knut Bergknut.
Petar Momiroski and Radmila Vucijak has attended Korta vägen for one month and has gained a greater understanding of the labour market. Radmila Vucijak is a graphic designer and Petar Momiroska has a degree in international relations. They are willing to take more risks and feel more comfortable speaking Swedish. Petar Momiroski has in a short time learnt so much that he is called “the Prime Minister” within the group.
“You are pointed in the right direction and don’t risk detours. Before I wrote hundreds of resumés and searched for jobs everywhere, but not now. We have learnt to first decide where and why and then start to apply”, he says.
Radmila Vucijak doesn’t know yet where she will work or have her trainee period, but as a graphic designer she has a dream job.
“Ever since I arrived in Scandinavia I wanted to work as a graphic designer for Ikea,”” says Radmila Vucijak.
At Lund University the devotion for academics born in foreign countries are not really all time high. Projects like Korta vägen do not exist and the supplemental education for nurses shut down. At the same time there is a huge demand for teachers, doctors and engineers on the labour market.
“This is a question which is timely and appropriate. We have not done a bad job and it would be a good idea to do something about it. We are going to have a meeting about it soon where we will look at what can be done,” says pro rector Eva Wiberg.
“Maybe we can cooperate with Malmö University, look at what they have done and try to recruit competent people to the project. We have started to discuss this issue, but at the moment it’s in its infancy,” says Wiberg.
At the university large amount of knowledge resources reside hence the possibilities to take a more responsibility for labour market policies are greater. If Lund University should take this responsibility or not and on their own or through aArbetsförmedlingen, Mira Necevska can’t answer.
“These questions are very political. In this type of job you are practical and not so visionary. On the other hand Swedish export depends on knowledge and competence. So sure, why not challenge the universities a little?”
On Taxi Lund’s premises sits Elmela Melunovic. Through her studies in Bosnia she was prepared to work as an economist. In Sweden she became something else. She has appreciated the years she has worked as a taxi driver but she hoped for something else. Employers, authorities, seats of learning, neighbors. Everybody has a responsibility for each other. By scrutinising reports it is obvious that Elmela Melunovic isn’t alone. That fact become even more evident when the man behind the switchboard comes out to chat with us.
His name is Madjidian and is in reality a production engineer.
Text: Linus Gisborn
Translation: Mia Söllwander
