Yrkesdörren – for faster integration of foreign-born people into the Swedish labor market
The most effective way to get established in a new country is to find a job and learn the language. However, in many cases, finding a job requires a strong network. As many as 8 out of 10 open positions in Sweden are filled with the help of contacts. This challenge, in combination with the fact that it takes an average of 7-8 years for a foreign-born person to find employment in Sweden, led Axfoundation to act. As part of Axfoundations integration initiative ÖppnaDörren , we initiated Yrkesdörren in 2015, and served as a greenhouse for the initially small-scale organization. The theory of change was simple: Meetings lead to networks – and networks lead to jobs. After five years of successfully matching established Swedes with people who are new in the country, Yrkesdörren was incorporated into the Axel Johnson Group's diversity and inclusion initiative Axelerate to be scaled up even further.
By matching people in the same industry, Yrkesdörren has facilitated the utilization of foreign-born’s skills: the meeting not only contributes to finding a job but also the right job.
“Axfoundation built an innovative integration initiative focusing on lowering the threshold for participation: the participants contribute one hour of their time to talk about the industry and the ‘door opener’ identifies people in their network that they can connect the new Swede with. These meetings help broaden professional networks and give the participant an informal validation of their qualifications. This is an hour that has proven to make a big difference to an individual’s ability to integrate into the Swedish labor market.” – Amelie Silfverstolpe, Sustainable Innovation Lead, Axfoundation and former director ÖppnaDörren
Results
By matching people in the same industry, Yrkesdörren has facilitated the utilization of foreign-born’s skills: the meeting not only contributes to finding a job but also the right job. Thus, Yrkesdörren has contributed to helping participants get established in Sweden and simultaneously increased the diversity of working life, as employers are given access to a much wider talent pool.
Axfoundation’s progress report 2020 Act to inspire & Inspire to Act 
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new and established Swedes met through Yrkesdörren between 2015 – 2020.
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per cent got an interview with an employer after their meetings.
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per cent of those who met an employer landed a job and 19% got an internship.
Meetings lead to networks – and networks lead to jobs
Yrkesdörren’s 2020 impact assessment indicates that the meetings that have taken place have had a positive effect on the ability of the participants to integrate in Sweden. The one-hour meetings have had a ripple effect, reaching further than the first contact and lasting longer than the meeting, with many keeping in touch later in life. These contacts between new and established Swedes can change attitudes and contribute to improved integration in Swedish society.
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per cent of participants say they feel more integrated into Swedish society after their meetings through Yrkesdörren.
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per cent of door openers who are matched through Yrkesdörren feel that they contribute to a more inclusive society.
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per cent of participants say they will stay in touch after the first meeting and 43% stay in touch six months afterwards.
The journey from pilot to scale
Axfoundation’s proven working model has taken Yrkesdörren from pilot to scale. It started in 2014 with Axfoundation digging into the challenge of foreign-born people in Sweden having a lower employment rate that those borne in the country. With the help of experts and researchers we analyzed the gaps between existing integration initiatives in Sweden that Axfoundation could fill and scrutinized already proven methods. As a result, Axfoundation initiated the incubator ÖppnaDörren in 2015 and created the matching initiative Yrkesdörren. We started off with small-scale trials with the public and some of Axel Johnson companies, and let it grow organically. Soon, several integration activities were linked to ÖppnaDörren, alongside Yrkesdörren also the already existing organizations Nya Kompisbyrån (former Invitationsdepartementet and Kompisbyrån) and Svenska med Baby. By incorporating all these under the umbrella ÖppnaDörren, Axfoundation could offer competence and support to enable growth. Along the way, Yrkesdörren developed an IT-system, which easily matches people from the same line of work.
ÖppnaDörren and Yrkesdörren evaluated its operation in 2020 with positive results. The theory holds: meetings lead to networks and networks lead to jobs. Now we asked ourselves – is it possible to share the model? The concept of Yrkesdörren was exported to Finland and started up operations through the independent organization Dörren by Luckan. At the same time, it was time for Yrkesdörren in Sweden to take another giant step. ÖppnaDörren, including Yrkesdörren, is incorporated into Axelerate, Axel Johnson’s initiative for inclusion, with the goal of scaling up the work even further and achieve transformative change.
Partners
Since the start in 2015, ÖppnaDörren has collaborated with a wide range of partners, bridging civil society, businesses, and private individuals. Among them are Apel, Axel Johnson, Centre for Business and Policy Studies (SNS), Demokratikonsult, Dustin, EFFSO, Ernst & Young, The European Social Fund, The Global Village/Järvaveckan, Integrationsnätverket, The Immigrant Index, KICKS, Luckan by Dörren in Finland, Martin & Servera, MittLiv, Nordregio, Ocean Observations, Oriflame, Phil’s burger, Spotify, The Swedish Employment Agency, The Swedish ESF Council, The Swedish Federation of Business Owners (Företagarna), The Union for Professionals (Akademikerförbundet SSR), Urban Deli and Åhléns.
Our Programs
Articles
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Yrkesdörren exported to Finland
2020-01-31
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Broadened Networks Benefit All
2016-10-30
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Social Supermarket to Re-open
2016-10-23
