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Norrbotten's recruitment needs: 8,500 people over two years

There is now a brand new regional survey that provides an overall picture of Norrbotten's skills needs. Both the public sector and business have great needs both to recruit new employees and to develop the skills of existing employees.

Adults and children stand on stage with a seated audience in front of them.
The conference will be opened by presenters Lisa Ek and Niklas Grönberg, together with Janus Brandin and Fredrik Hansson. The program will then be closed by Vera Nyman and Pelle Reinholdsson Lindgren, who together highlight a central message: they, together with future generations, constitute 100 percent of the future. Photographer: Jacob Nilsson

The survey, which was conducted in the fall of 2025, shows that employers in both the private and public sectors see a great need for strengthened skills in areas such as digitalization, leadership, work environment, business development and adaptability.  

The total recruitment need in the county amounts to around 8,500 people over the next two years. At the same time, the need for skills development is great. In the public sector, this is about 15,500 employees, while the corresponding need in the business sector is about 6,200 people.  

The survey should serve as a fact-based basis for continued cooperation and joint solutions.  

– Skills supply is a common regional challenge. We need to both attract new skills and create better opportunities for those already working in the county to develop and adapt in line with the changes in working life, says Janus Brandin, Regional Development Director, Norrbotten Region.  

A long-term and data-driven approach

For two days, employers, education stakeholders and political representatives will meet at the conference "Skills Supply for the Future." The big question is: How does Norrbotten secure the skills needed for the working world of the future?  

– We wanted to build a working method where the mapping is not a one-off effort, but part of a more long-term and data-driven work on skills supply. When the data is collected regularly and used actively, municipalities, employers and education stakeholders have better opportunities to see changes in time and make more accurate decisions, says Martin Bergvall, union manager at Akademi Norr.

The data is based on responses from several hundred employers in the county.  

– We can't wait for someone else to come up with the right numbers. We have to act ourselves to collect local data that reflects the reality here, says Joe Lindehag, statistician, Norrbotten Region.  

The conference continues tomorrow, March 18th, in Luleå, where the focus will be on solutions and concrete ways forward to strengthen the supply of skills in Norrbotten.  

Connectors

Janus Brandin
Regional Development Director
janus.brandin@norrbotten.se

Martin Bergvall
Head of the Association, Academy North
martin.bergvall@akademinorr.se 

Joe Lindehag
Statistician, Norrbotten Region
joe.lindehag@norrbotten.se