Agency in new push to find 'hidden jobs'

Sweden's job agency has joined forces with a Swedish business association to launch a new project aimed at finding "hidden jobs" in Sweden, with officials aiming especially to help employers in small businesses.

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Sweden's Employment Agency (Arbetsförmedlingen) and the Swedish Federation of Business Owners (Företagarna) launched their new collaboration on Thursday in the hope of improving recruitment processes across the country.

"The Swedish workforce has changed so that four out of five jobs are now in small businesses. It's clear that it's trickier for an institution such as Arbetsförmedlingen to work with many small businesses rather than a few big ones," Elisabeth Thand Ringqvist, CEO of Företagarna, told Sveriges Radio (SR).

In order to better meet the needs of such small and medium-sized businesses, the federation and the employment agency have created a new project called Jöbbsökarna ('The Job Seekers').

One the project gets underway, selected recruiters will actively get in touch with prospective employers in a bid to seek out the jobs that may have slipped through the cracks.

As to why companies weren't turning to Sweden's Employment Agency as a first port of call, Ringqvist explained that the system wasn't perfect for their needs.

"Arbetsförmedlingen is too bureaucratic and it's tough to find in the jungle of labour market policies out there," she said.

Ringqvist also argued that one of the biggest barriers to company growth was the challenge of actually finding the right workers.

"The cooperation is very positive," Labour Market Minister Hillevi Engström said in a statement.

"It's in part an important step in Arbetsförmedlingen's work to make good business contacts, create legitimacy, and achieve effective matching."

"And it's also a good way for companies to make better use of the knowledge, competency, and resources that Arbetsförmedlingen can offer."

Engström highlighted Sweden's youth as a particular target of the programme.

The project will officially begin in April and will run until the end of the year.

TT/The Local/og
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