Great interest in Norrbotten at Emigration Expo in Utrecht

Norrbotten made a big impression at Europe's largest migration fair. Over two days, "Arctic Sweden" has conducted an estimated couple of thousand longer conversations with visitors who want to emigrate. Now the work of following up on the contacts made to help them become new Norrbotten residents follows.

At the Emigration Expo in the Netherlands, Region Norrbotten and the county's municipalities have taken a first step towards jointly owning the story of the county. The joint sender, Arctic Sweden, gave the municipalities the opportunity to take place side by side with their unique offers and their own profile.

– With the attractive common sender, it will be easier for us as a small municipality to present ourselves in the international arena, says Ida Brännström, Övertorneå.

Ida Brännström and stand colleague Cornelis Uittenbogaard (left) met many people who were curious at Övertorneå.

The joint effort created a sense of pride in being part of something bigger. It also proved to be a strength in this international arena. Arctic Sweden has received positive attention not only from trade fair visitors, but also from the organizers and other exhibitors.

During the weekend, 13 Dutch people visited the fair. There has been a constant flow of interest from all participants for Arctic Sweden. Luleå Municipality alone estimates that they had 000 longer conversations during the two days of the fair.

To Luleå this week

A couple of these interested people are coming to Luleå already this week. The representatives from Luleå municipality met a Dutch couple who are now traveling up to Luleå and hope to stay there. They have previously lived in Nordmaling and understand Swedish quite well. One of them has already applied to LTU.

– We are going to meet them on Tuesday. His partner wants to work, she works in tourism so we are thinking about which companies we should contact. My colleague Ian will check out this housing issue and show them around Luleå, says Monica Barck Flygare, business coordinator Luleå.

Christoffer Brännström, Luleå, was able to show many fair visitors information about the city's opportunities.

The delegation included four Dutch people who are already established in Norrbotten. One of them was Cornelis Uittenbogaard, who works with community planning in Övertorneå municipality.

– There has been a lot of pressure at the stand, we have had lots of conversations. People come with concrete questions and want to know what it is like to live in Norrbotten. It feels really positive, he says.

Gain experience

The initiative with the participation of municipalities has been made possible through the North Sweden Green Deal project, which is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

Through the project, Region Norrbotten has placed the municipalities in Norrbotten at the center of sustainable social transformation. Just under a year ago, work began on strengthening the municipalities' ability to attract and take care of new prospective residents. This weekend's participation at Emigration Expo was a pilot, an opportunity to test the ability in tough competition and gain experience and lessons learned for future efforts. The skill and pride that the municipalities demonstrated during the fair was founded on solid preparatory work. It may yield some results already this year.

Madelein Keskitalo got to talk to many Dutch people who were well-informed and focused on Kiruna in particular.

– It has been absolutely fantastic, we have been so noticed. There has been full pressure the whole time and there are many who are interested in moving to us and starting to work here. Some have said they want to move already this year, others have a slightly longer process, says EURES advisor Kirsi Paloniemi Lundqvist, who was part of the Norrbotten delegation.

Many people we met at the fair are already studying Swedish purposefully in preparation for their plans to change countries. EURES is a network with concrete tools to support labor mobility within the EU. Kirsi was able to talk about the opportunities within the Targeted Mobility Scheme, which includes support for language studies before moving.

Kirsi was an on-site resource for all municipalities and the Region. Sooner or later, most serious interested parties ended up contacting her for information on where EURES could help.

Adjacent to the Arctic Sweden stand were both LTU and LKAB.

– Many people are interested in northern Sweden and what we can offer up here. We have met people with skills we really need. Another positive thing is that we are different parties at the fair so that we can offer tandem recruitment. Nurses, social workers, engineers, IT - many professional groups have stopped by our place. With joint efforts, we can solve the skills challenge in Norrbotten, says Åse Juhlin, HR Manager at LKAB.

LKAB's delegation included employees from several countries.

Even at LKAB's stand, next to Arctic Sweden, there was high pressure throughout the fair.

– I believe in this, that we work together, that we are a large delegation. The collective feeling that we are cooperating and showing it gives much more than you think. We can talk about ourselves as an employer and then show how well it is possible to commute from the surrounding municipalities, says Sofi Waltare, Luleå University of Technology.

150 emigrate every year

Every year, around 150 Dutch people emigrate. Many of them seek a life of greater peace, close to nature, and a safer environment for their children to grow up in. Those who buy tickets to the fair are often well-informed and motivated.

Norrbotten will now continue to work with the contacts. Some have come via the QR code for Arctic Sweden, others via other digital forms, some via the recruitment service Minddig, others via email or completed forms on paper.

It may take some time to complete an emigration, but we hope to meet some of our fair visitors again – perhaps as colleagues, neighbors, classmates and in associations.

Text: Sara Stylbäck Vesa
Photos: Nino Pels

The North Sweden Green Deal is an initiative to realize a sustainable societal transition, in the wake of the new industrial establishments.

The project is run by Region Norrbotten and Region Västerbotten together with a number of other actors. It is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).