Despite the Swedish economy doing well, youth unemployment hovers around 17 percent, as many Swedish companies struggle to find the labor force with the right attitude. The solution used by the Staga company is to pass on young men of Swedish descent in favor of women and "new arrivals."
This year's Small Business Barometer, an annual survey conducted by Swedbank, the Savings Bank and the Entrepreneurs' Trade Union which reflects the opinions of 4,000 business owners, has identified a lack in certain types of workers as the biggest growth barrier in 2018 for small businesses, which account for two thirds of the labor market in some parts of the country.
"Growth is still good, but the rate has slowed down compared with last year," Robert Wallin, deputy regional manager for the Entrepreneurs' Trade Union, told the news outlet Corren. According to him, the lack of competence is particularly acute in construction and trade.
In Östergötaland County in southern Sweden alone, 40 percent of the companies have been canceling orders due to work overloads and a labor shortage. According to Wallin, the companies aren't necessarily seeking employees with university degrees, but with the right attitude.
The Linköping-based company Staga, which offers innovative solutions, doesn't employ millenials and young Swedish men in particular, favoring women and immigrants.
According to Staga CEO Sven Lundgren, there are no fixed rules, but immigrants tend to have better work ethics, as experience showed.
In a subsequent clarification on its web page, Staga claimed to be striving to be an attractive employer regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or the sexual orientation of employees. The company stressed that anyone with the right skills and attitude is welcome to work. The "Staga family" includes employees from Portugal, Greece, Albania, Somalia, Iran and Sweden.
Staga Sweden AB, is a relatively young Linköping-based company that focuses on developing technical products based on paper, plastic and non-woven materials for various industrial purposes.
Agencies