Andrew Obosi, our recent interviewee, has three children all of whom are fluent in Swedish. We'll need these future generations in Skellefteå - one day they'll be our teachers, doctors and engineers.
Of the more than a thousand people recently laid off by Northvolt, many are without the safety net of being EU citizens.
For non-EU ex-Northvolters, these are, quite frankly, terrifying times. They have less than three months to find a job that satisfies the government’s controversial minimum salary threshold of 28,480.
Many employers' insistence on immediate fluency in Swedish has made matters worse and seems quite unnecessary, especially considering Sweden's high level of English proficiency. According to the annual EF English Proficiency Index, Sweden ranks sixth globally in English-speaking skills.
While we understand that speaking English might make some Swedes feel uncomfortable, it's important to remember that newcomers genuinely appreciate the effort.
It's also crucial to compare this discomfort to the immense anxiety experienced by many former Northvolt workers who relocated their families across the globe, only to find themselves unemployed with a tight three-month deadline to secure new work. Let's not forget, Northvolt is an English-language workplace.
Do these people really need the added burden of having to learn Swedish in this tiny window of time they have left before they're deported?
Many of these very bright people also have families: Andrew Obosi, (pictured above) our recent interviewee, has three children for example, all of whom are already fluent in Swedish.
We'll need these future generations in Skellefteå - one day they'll be our teachers, doctors and engineers. Yet we appear to be willing to lose them because we cannot be flexible.
Most of the non-EU workers affected by the recent Northvolt lay-offs are highly skilled and qualified individuals who have already made the significant step of relocating to the region.
Meet and Greet, November 4, 2024. Emma Forsberg, human resource partner of SSAB. Emma said that they aim to make all their steel fossil-free by 2028. They can employ English speaking people in non-production jobs without fluent Swedish.
Concrete steps for employers
Considering the area's continuing talent shortage, it seems counterproductive to lose these valuable individuals. In a sense, the most challenging part of recruitment—attracting talent to the region—has already been accomplished.
Employers should therefore focus on language and cultural fit during the initial onboarding process, rather than demanding that newcomers have instant Swedish fluency.
Hire a corporate language teacher for foreign employees and give them a deadline to become fluent, if fluency is essential. Most of them already have at least two languages - adding Swedish shouldn't take too long.
Sumaiya Ferdaus, originally from Bangladesh, is another well-educated newcomer from outside the EU. She has a degree in economics, and a master’s in applied economics and data analysis from Jönköping University.
Then, get a work visa specialist to give you a quote and expectations of how long the process takes.
Finally, hire a specialist to give workshops and training to your new AND existing staff for cultural integration. Don't put all the acclimatisation emphasis on the new hire. This should be a joint effort.
So, what's in it for Skellefteå companies and organizations? Higher profitability and more effective problem-solving, that's what.
Several studies highlight how companies with diverse workforces tend to outperform those without. Research from organizations such as McKinsey & Company and the Boston Consulting Group, including studies in Nordic countries, has shown that diverse teams often exhibit greater innovation and higher financial returns.
For instance, McKinsey’s studies found that companies in the top quartile for ethnic and gender diversity on executive teams were 25% more likely to have above-average profitability.
This is attributed to varied perspectives, which lead to better problem-solving and decision-making, directly improving productivity and growth.
Meet and Greet, November 4, 2024.
Another report by Deloitte (subtitled, "Celebrate our people not for how well they fit into our culture, but for everything they bring to it") found that diverse teams are 1.8 times more likely to be change-ready and 1.7 times more likely to be innovative leaders in their markets.
Additionally, a study by Harvard Business Review highlighted that diverse organizations make better decisions up to 87% of the time, particularly in complex problem-solving situations, where varied perspectives offer critical insights.
It’s a win-win situation. Help these incredibly bright people stay in Skellefteå and improve your business. Perhaps Skellefteå’s willingness to be flexible and creative might just nudge the government to do the right thing when it comes to work visas and minimum salaries. If Skellefteå can be adaptable, why can't central government?
I must add that this anxiety over language and cultural fit is a nationwide issue: It certainly isn't a Skellefteå-only problem. And, at Monday's Meet and Match event, little green shoots of hope were evident - at least two employers who had insisted on fluent Swedish at the first event had adjusted their position to be less dogmatic.
As we've already seen with the green transition and the sustainable wooden construction of Sara kulturhus, Skellefteå is often ahead of the curve. What's stopping us from leading positive change in Sweden again?
Meet and Greet, November 4, 2024. Left to right; Brilliant Ncube, from Zimbabwe, Erik Sedej, from Slovenia, Omer Mohammed Osman, from Ethiopia.