In a previous article, international students shared their experiences about the job hunt in Lund and its surrounding areas. Today Susanne Linné, Coordinator at Alumni and Career Service at Lund University, explains the challenges of the labour market.
“International students very often contact our office in the research for a job during and after the accomplishment of their studies. It must be said that international students are expecting more career service than Lund University has today.” Susanne Linné says.
According to Susanne Linné, limitations are several.
“The difficulties encountered by students are due to the small seize of Lund as town. This factor impacts on the high competitiveness of the local labour market. Moreover, the knowledge of the Swedish language is relevant for employers. Hiring someone is truly expensive in Sweden, hence a certain amount of skills is required. Swedish language is among those skills” Susanne Linné explains.
Another challenge that Susanne Linné brings up during our conversation is related to work regulations present in Sweden.
“According to the migration law, non- European students have a permit to stay six months after their graduation. If after these six months they have not been hired, they must leave Sweden” Susanne Linné says.
The inquiry about the job hunting in Lund has showed some limitations international students deal with. One is the language barrier: the knowledge of Swedish is fundamental to get hired. And another is the working regulations as a factor that strongly impact the non-European students and their research for a job in Sweden.
