Migrants from what can be simplistically called the global south are three times more likely to have their academic credentials not used in Sweden, compared to those from the global north. The European Commission describes the phenomenon of unused competences as so-called “brain waste.”
This is evident from a compilation of data from Eurostat, which, among others, Lighthouse Reports, the Financial Times and Unbias The News have done.
Language skills essential
According to John Andersson, labor market analyst at Arbetsförmedlingen, this is partly due to the fact that in Sweden employers often perceive educations from countries such as the USA or Great Britain to be of higher quality than those from, for example, Africa or Asia.
IN the study on brain waste, however, it appears that language skills play a decisive role in getting a job in Sweden. This is something that Catalina Martínez Ascencio from Colombia experienced. Although she has a master’s degree in public health science from Lund University, she struggled for several years to find work in Sweden – without success.
Martínez Ascencio felt that SFI did not give her the Swedish language training she needed to meet employers’ requirements. Others she knows have had better experiences, but Martínez Ascencio describes SFI and other Swedish integration programs as a lottery, where she was unfortunately not lucky. Now she and several of her research colleagues have moved to the Netherlands, where it was easier to get a job.
– The biggest difference in the Netherlands is that showing a willingness to learn the language is often enough to get a job, says Catalina.
Employers bear some responsibility
Labor and Integration Minister Johan Pehrson also believes that the difference in job opportunities for highly educated migrants from the global south compared to the north is mainly due to a lack of language skills. He also emphasizes that discrimination and racism have long been a problem in the Swedish labor market.
– You should dare to hire someone who may not yet be completely fluent in the language, he says.
The government is working to ensure that SFI becomes uniform throughout the country and to create more opportunities to combine language teaching with part-time work, adds Pehrson.