We desire talent to come here, but are we genuinely welcoming them?
A few months ago, I had the privilege of discussing Sweden’s job market with international talent, including at a Career Day event for 180 Master's students and early career researchers exploring life science opportunities. About two-thirds of attendees were not from Sweden, underscoring the attractiveness of the field for global talent. According to Vinnova, in 2022, 23% of life science employees in Sweden were foreign-born – myself included, as a Singaporean based here since 2009.
Sweden is also keen to attract and retain global talent. It is a topic featured prominently in Sweden's life science strategy, where under Goal 7.3, the government aims to offer competitive conditions to attract global talent – vital for a knowledge-intensive industry requiring specialised skills that Sweden’s domestic labour market cannot fully meet.
There is much to love about Sweden. I have appreciated the sound approach to work-life balance and quality of life, especially when raising a young family. My friends and family in Singapore continue to be amazed at Sweden’s generous holidays and parental leave options. When I mentioned I would be taking seven months off to care for my first child, an acquaintance commented, “Enjoy your long holiday!” He obviously did not have a child of his own.
But we must also confront an uncomfortable truth that we still have far to go in helping our international talent to feel at home. In conversations, I sometimes hear the comment that “international talents are responsible for helping themselves and seek out the resources they need”, and to some extent, that’s true. If we choose to move to a new country, we should take ownership of that choice and all it entails.
However, if we as a nation say that we need international talent and desire to attract and retain them, there seems to be an inherent contradiction in making it unreasonably hard for such talent to stay and contribute, even when they desire to and are, mostly, trying their best to find their way forward.
We must also confront an uncomfortable truth
There are structural issues that remain to be addressed. For instance, non-EU talent often face a catch-22 situation – they need long-term contracts for permanent residence, while employers often require residency first. As a result, many end up accepting lower-paying jobs in remote areas just to meet residency requirements – a clear case of “brain waste”, as well as demoralising for these talents to have their career ambitions disrupted.
I have also found that networks are particularly important in Sweden for career progression, but this is also especially challenging for foreigners to be accepted into. I was fortunate to have had a strong champion in the early years of my time in Sweden who advocated for and included me in his own networks, but I wonder if it also requires a broader cultural shift towards embracing the discomfort that comes with intentionally including and engaging with people who are different from us. It is telling that Sweden ranked near the bottom in the 2022 Expat Insider survey’s “Ease of Settling In Index” (beating only Kuwait), with expats finding it hard to make friends, build social networks, and feel included.
If we wish to be at the forefront of an industry that operates on a global plane, we have a responsibility to do what we can to create an inclusive environment where international talent can thrive, so that when our international guests step through the door into Sweden, they also feel genuinely welcomed and valued enough to stay and make Sweden their home.
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