Caroline swapped Germany for Norrbotten – working to move in

It's been a little over a month since Caroline Pfriender moved from Reutlingen in southern Germany to Luleå in northern Sweden. She's started to feel at home in the corridors of the Regionhuset and familiarize herself with her new home in Kyrkbyn in Gammelstad.

– Everyone is very welcoming, even when I'm shopping in the store or standing at the bus stop. It feels very good. I had heard that in northern Sweden everyone is so reserved, but that's not the case at all. Even though it may take some time to get to know people in depth, people are very friendly and open in everyday life, says Caroline.  

Great interest from other countries

Norrbotten has a great need for immigration. We need more people to manage the supply of skills, maintain social services, bring in more tax money for welfare, keep preschools and schools and associations running. And even though southern Sweden has high unemployment, much of the interest in moving here comes from other EU countries.   
  
Caroline Pfriender has been hired as a population supply strategist at Region Norrbotten. In that role, her own, very recent experiences become important. So how did she end up here?  

– I met several employees from Piteå Municipality, learned about Norrbotten and became curious, she says.  

Caroline Pfriender is basically a trained sociologist and educator. She has a long career behind her, with work as an administrator and project manager. Her assignments have dealt with integration processes, gender equality, migration, consulting and organizational development. She has worked for, among others, the municipality of Reutlingen and Caritas, Germany's largest welfare organization. 

Caroline started working on October 1st of this year and is now getting to know the county, the workplace and her colleagues. Photo: Sara Stylbäck Vesa
  
Within the framework of this work, Caroline Pfriender has worked on various EU projects and participated in international exchanges. One of these brought her together with employees from Piteå Municipality, starting in 2018. 

– It was through a network, based in Stuttgart, called YES Forum. It does international projects with a focus on young people and the labor market, so that vulnerable young people get a chance. Piteå Municipality was there and every year I met more and more people at project meetings and events in different countries.  

Curious about Norrbotten

Her new network spoke warmly about her region and Caroline became increasingly curious.   

– They talked about the landscape, the clean air, the climate, about jobs and leisure opportunities, work-life balance, the Swedish work culture.   

Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Caroline Pfriender needed to stay isolated at home and was bored. An online Swedish course was a solution to the boredom.   

– It was for fun, not that serious. I learned a little Swedish but quit the following year because it was too tough to combine with a full-time job.   

In 2023, she met many people from Piteå municipality again – and now she could use her Swedish in the meeting with them. Now Hannah Degerman, who works with the move-in service Move to Piteå, suggested that Caroline try working in Sweden. Caroline enrolled in a distance learning course at Folkuniversitet in Södertälje and studied purposefully while working and looking for new work in Norrbotten.  

Hannah Degerman (center) is a major contributor to Caroline Pfriender ending up in Norrbotten. She and her colleagues at Move to Piteå have been of great help. Now Hannah and Caroline are both colleagues in the population support work and good friends. Photo: Nino Pels. 

At first, Caroline had a bit of a hard time finding a job in a job market she was unfamiliar with. She received good help from Kirsi Paloniemi Lundqvist at EURES Sweden Arbetsförmedlingen, a network that supports labor mobility within the EU, including through the Target Mobility Scheme.
And from October 1, she has been employed by Region Norrbotten. The initial period has been a lot about building up knowledge and networks.  

– On the first day I went to Jokkmokk to learn about the Move on up project. The assignment is to work out strategies together with the municipalities, with other regions, find ways to attract and retain international expertise. In that, my path, my personal experiences, are important, says Caroline, who will now work with Hanna, Kirsi and other people who helped her land in Norrbotten.  

She emphasizes the importance of information, support and personal contact. The process can take a long time.  

“You have so many questions”

– You need to feel that you have support, because you have so many questions, so many uncertainties in your head, so much that you don't recognize from your home country. You need personal contact, with the municipality's immigration service, or with your employer if possible. It's good if there are people you know you can ask questions to.  

There are also other obstacles that make it difficult for job seekers from other countries. Language skills, for example, become a threshold to overcome.   

– If possible, it would be good if more employers were open to English-speaking applicants. Maybe you can learn the language at work, with the support of your colleagues.   

Other things in Swedish working life can be unfamiliar and surprising to someone coming from another country. Caroline mentions the coffee breaks, the flat hierarchy and the freedom to organize your own work.  

Then there are obstacles of a practical nature, and everything is still not resolved for Caroline – who is nevertheless an EU citizen with the right to live and work here.  

– Without a Swedish personal identification number, everything is difficult. I can't get an internet subscription, order anything, pay bills. Finding an apartment when you're still living abroad is almost impossible. It was only solved ten days before I came to Sweden. You get a little panicky when you have everything in your home country and are going to leave it all behind! I'm grateful that my new employer supports me in everyday matters. 

Exploring her new hometown is in full swing. Caroline has, among other things, visited the Norrbottensteatern. 

Now she has had time to land a little and get to know Norrbotten.  

– I live in Kyrkbyn in Gammelstad, so I have been to the museum there a few times. I was at Gültzaudden one day when the sun was shining, it felt like a holiday day. I have explored Luleå, seen what shops there are and bought winter clothes, and went with a colleague to Ikea in Haparanda. I take walks by the water and have been to the cinema. I have also been to Norrbottensteatern and seen A Christmas Carol. I have also seen the Northern Lights several times, which is always a magical experience. I enjoy my workplace and building my network both personally and professionally – I need both. 

Text: Sara Stylbäck Vesa