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  6. "Social transformation is making it more difficult for us to provide skills"

"Social transformation is making it more difficult for us to provide skills"

Kiruna Municipality wants to see the government step in and introduce relocation grants, financial exemptions regarding depreciation, and targeted support for housing construction in the Ore Fields. Without more housing and more people, it is difficult for the municipality to cope with the supply of skills, not least in welfare, which competes for labor with the mining industry.


Viktoria Björklund, head of administration and head of school, Kiruna Municipality. Photo: Kiruna Municipality.

Kiruna Municipality shares the challenge of large expected retirements with many others, while unemployment is basically non-existent. The few who enter the labor market are attracted to the mining industry. Skills supply is a crucial issue for the municipality.

– Finding people with the right skills in welfare is fundamental, and as a municipality we cannot compete with the industry's salaries and benefits. We need more people in Kiruna at the same time as there is a housing shortage – that is a big problem, says Viktoria Björklund, head of administration and head of schools, Kiruna municipality.

Kiruna Municipality currently has difficulty meeting legal requirements in both social administration and education administration. The proportion of qualified staff in schools is low, 20 percent in preschool and 50 percent in primary school, and the trend is decreasing.

– It affects our students' education and their results. The municipality has difficulty making investments in skills provision itself as the economy is strained by the social transformation. I want to see the government step in and introduce financial exceptions regarding depreciation for municipalities in urban transformation, targeted support for housing construction and relocation grants, says Viktoria.

In addition to the requested support from the government, Viktoria believes that broad collaboration around skills supply can benefit the county.

– By mapping and highlighting the needs for expertise in the region, municipalities with similar problems can recruit together. In Malmfälten, our municipalities could share certain services, such as a school psychologist where a small municipality might only need a 50 percent position. AI solutions that make work easier for people are also something we can benefit from collaborating on, says Viktoria.

Text: Stina Engman, Brightnest

About the survey

The survey is digital and will be conducted in the fall of 2025, starting in October.

Here you can find more information about the survey.

Kompetensarena Norrbotten is a project that aims to manage the county's increasing skills needs as a result of the extensive industrial establishment in Norrbotten.

The project is run by Region Norrbotten in collaboration with the county's municipalities and business companies, Akademi Norr and the Lapland Municipal Association. It is funded by the European Social Fund, ESF+.