The recruitment industry in the north

Recruitment industry hot in the north

In recent years, dozens of new staffing and recruitment companies have been established in Norrbotten. At the same time, the existing operators are growing. A response to one of the major challenges in the north: finding skills for the green investments and the transformation of societies in northern Sweden.

The major investments and green transformation in northern Sweden require new skills and the hunt for new employees is taking place both in Sweden and abroad. A hunt that is becoming increasingly intense.

In addition to new local recruitment companies and new offices being opened by nationally active companies, existing players in recruitment are increasing their ambitions with more employees and broader offers.

The background is the social development in northern Sweden with the ongoing and planned industrial investments. Added to this are the large retirements in both the private and public sectors. In addition, the market for recruitment of key personnel is changing.

"On the one hand, more companies are establishing themselves in Norrbotten, which means that the market for recruitment services is becoming larger. In addition, many existing companies want to recruit more employees. This applies to most people, regardless of industry, from dentists to industrial companies," says Lars Bogren, new owner and CEO of Cesab, the oldest local recruitment company in Luleå, founded in 1985.

He is supported by Anna Rosendahl, founder and CEO of Luleå's youngest local recruitment company, Culpeo People & Culture Partner, founded in March last year:

"There are big changes in Norrbotten's market for skills supply. There are major changes taking place in the skills market in Norrbotten, both in companies' needs for skills and in the behaviour of those seeking work. It is an incredibly interesting market and we are at the forefront of business development up here. Seeking employment here has previously been less conceivable for many. Now there is a different attitude and an increased interest in northern Sweden," says Anna Rosendahl.

One major change is that it now takes much more active work to find and attract candidates in the recruitment process. Interesting candidates must now be sought out and made interested in the company. Therefore, the need for companies to use recruitment agencies is increasing.

Another major difference compared to the past is that candidates are more interested in the company's behaviour in terms of diversity, sustainability, marketing and the career opportunities and possibilities offered by the internal succession system.

"It will be different. It will be increasingly important for companies to remove barriers to diversity and work on inclusion. This places great demands on employers if they want to attract foreign workers. You have to build skills internally in a different way and be prepared to work long-term to attract and retain the right skills," says Anna Rosendahl.

Cesab is working with the same environmental analysis:

"The new generation is more careful about which companies they want to work for. For them, it is important that their employer has a clear sustainability profile. What is also new is that they are interested in other career paths than becoming a manager," says Katarina Stehn, former CEO and now a consultant at Cesab.

While recruitment has become more extensive and complicated compared to the days when it was enough to place an advertisement, digitalisation is making recruitment easier. Much of the initial stages of the process can be done with digital interviews. There are also completely different opportunities to search for candidates globally, which is important when a large part of the skills required in industrial ventures have to be sought internationally.

According to estimates by the T25 business group, industrial companies in Norrbotten and Västerbotten face a recruitment need of 20,000-55,000 people, depending on whether construction work and subcontractors are included. In addition, statistics produced by LTU show 50,000 retirements by 2030 in Norrbotten, in industry and the public sector.

New recruitment companies established in recent years:

Professionals Nord started in 2015 in Umeå and now has offices in Luleå, Skellefteå and ten more cities.

Ghost Competence formed We Skill in September 2021 and will focus on the IT and tech sector. Offices in Luleå, Skellefteå and Gothenburg.

Luleå company Terminal 5 forms new business area to facilitate companies to recruit and receive foreign skills.

Nordisk kompetens was founded in 2015 in Luleå and works with redeployment and staff development. Now has offices in 30 locations in Sweden: Luleå, Boden, Haparanda, Jokkmokk, Piteå and Kalix, among others.

The Piteå company Kompetenslaget is opening new offices in Luleå and Stockholm, and increasing staffing levels in Skellefteå and Kiruna. It works to attract returnees and recruit the right skills for its clients.

By Hart opens an office in Luleå and plans to open more offices. Works with HR and recruitment.

In Luleå, a new company, Culpeo People & Culture Partner, starts up to provide support in HR, recruitment and organisational development.

Recruitment company Job Solution establishes itself in Luleå.

Workslife in Sweden start in Hortlax, outside Piteå.

"Old" companies operating in Luleå, many of which are increasing their staff:

Terminalen Executive and Specialist Search, established in 2008 in Luleå

Cesab Executive Search, started in 1985 in Luleå.

Manpower Group

Clockwork rekrytering

Adecco

Randstad (formerly Proffice)Rätt rekrytering & HR

Bravura

One Partner Group

Poolia

Studentconsulting