Huge turn-out at Skellefteå's first Meet and Match

The inaugural Meet and Match event in Skellefteå was a resounding success, attracting an impressive turnout of more than 1,300 attendees and 63 recruiting organizations. The organizers can be commended for the remarkable outcome of this first event.

City manager, Kristin Sundin Jonsson, was very pleased with the event.

– It was truly inspiring to witness the community's resilience and determination in the face of adversity.

Norran English was there, and we chatted to a few people. These are their stories.

Meet and Match, October 2024. Olepia Shohana.

Foto: Donna Richmond

Olepia Shohana worked as an operator at Northvolt. She moved from Finspån, in southern Sweden to work in Skellefteå with her husband and baby. Olepia has lived in Sweden for six years, originally from Bangladesh. She was a professor of law before she moved to Sweden but understands that she needs to be flexible in the work she can do. She is fluent in Swedish.

Meet and Match, October 2024. Matěj Drábek.

Foto: Donna Richmond

Matěj Drábek, from Czech Republic. He was very tired as he had just come off the night shift at Northvolt. He has been working at Northvolt for nine months and will leave in five weeks. He was a little overwhelmed by the number of people so said he'd try to come back to one of the future events.

Meet and Match, October 2024. Chiara Pugliarelli.

Foto: Donna Richmond

Chiara Pugliarelli told us that she hopes to talk to companies and said that ABB were willing to have a conversation, despite the huge number of visitors. She also found a company at the event called Reedeam who offer short courses for free. She thought that was a great idea and is going to do one of the courses.

Meet and Match, October 2024. Aiman Suoban.

Foto: Donna Richmond

Aiman Suoban has lived here for more than three years. She and her husband work for Northvolt and are still employed, but she said she was here because it's good to know what could be available if she is laid off in the future.

Meet and Match, October 2024. Lorents Burman, mayor, and Evelina Fahlesson, deputy mayor.

Foto: Donna Richmond

We also spoke to Skellefteå mayor, Lorents Burman and the deputy mayor, Evelina Fahlesson. Lorents told us that this was a very important event, and that he was pleased with the huge turnout.

Evelina told us that during the municipality's monthly meetings she has been encouraging companies to be braver when it comes to employing people who are not fluent in Swedish. She recently had a meeting with companies in Skellefteå and was impressed with some of their forward-thinking when it comes to using more English. In particular, she mentioned Gustafssons Bil.

The next events are on November 4, and November 18 and 19.

More photos of the event here: