SwSy Hantverksgrupp
Swedish Syrian handcraft group to Support Immigrants' Craftsmen Integration in Swedish Labor Market
Swedish Labor Market and immigrants
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In one year the number of people registered as unemployed decreased according to Swede's job agency, but there is still a significant gap between people born in Sweden and people born abroad
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Sweden's job market one of the worst for immigrants according to recent researches, but there is a positive trend in participation and employment rates (Radio Sweden)
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One of the key issues is a 'talent mismatch', meaning that while there are jobs available in Sweden and job-seekers, there is a shortage of people with the skills the labour market demands (the Local).
Difficulties of immigrants craftsmen' inclusion in Sweden
In recent years, many countries have experienced the arrival of large numbers of immigrants especially to Europe countries. Immigrants from war zones countries are facing a range of challenges to integrate in European communities. This is the case of Arabian immigrants who find many difficulties to adopt the new culture and rules of the new country particularly in Sweden.
Like most European countries, Immigrants in Sweden experiences high rates of unemployment, thus, certain groups of people are facing increased problems in finding a job and are at risk of being excluded from the labour market. This problem is accompained by other problems which pose a threat on immigrants craftsmen after leaving their home lands and their traditional crafts they worked with as main job for years. This is the case with a huge number of Syrian immigrants' craftsmen. These crafts were inherted from their antecedents and young people have kept working with same crafts to preserve cultural heritage of their countries.
Pictures from: Craft of Syria Website
The craftmanship industry in Syria is was exposed to disappear due to the unstable political situation since the war started in 2011. Craftsmen found themselves unable to work or live their after losing their companies, thus, this led them to leave and to choose European countries to live in peace and countiue working with their crafts according to many immigrants.
Syrian Mosaic Art and Design By Nour Al Msouti
However, many craftsmen have experienced the difficulties of finding their traditional crafts in Sweden since these crafts is belong to the Syrian culture, so it is a complicated process to work with same craft or match their craft with job in Sweden. Consequently, they felt isolated and unable to integrate in society. They were forced to practice another job far away from their basic job. All these difficulties affected the integration process but with little help from people, companies and job agency. Immigrants needed more help to be able to practice their beloved craft and integrate in labour market.
The urgent needs for immigrants'Craftsmen can be summarized as:
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language learning
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Cultural learning
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Employment skills
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Swedish employment system Knowledge
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More developed digital skills to access different systems related to daily life needs and to be able to practice online activities to enhance their professional career .
For these reasons, many craftsmen are seeking to gain knowledge to increase their opportunities of setting up social relations and getting suitable jobs.
The challenges for refugees and other immigrants to enter Swedish labor market
Although immigrants in Sweden are introduced with welcome program which include many information about living in Sweden, but according to many immigrants the program is helpless when they try to do something practically. A coording to an immigrant Syrian artist, it took from him one year at least to know how to open his own company and he still lack knowledge about the complex condtions of labor market system for immigrants. He also added that these conditions must be more clear, accessable and less taught for immigrants to help them start their proffessional life from the beginning. In addition to that the huge difference between countries in system and culture exposed immigrants to be lost and live with inner struggles between their past as leaders of copmanies and the present as people trying to start over with jobs they never imagine they will work with.
Professional Mosaic Artist and Designer from Syria telling his Story
I was angry, sad and disappointed. I decided not to work with my craft anymore, I regret coming to here sometimes for that reason. When I started searching for my craft, I contacted many people at that time. I went frm Gothenburg to Stockholm to ask for a job at a Mosaic Company which is a large company of mosaic design. I think their company produce a nice mosaic works but it not professional as our traditional craft in Syria. They use the same materials but in different way.... I think I am able to work there because Mosaic here is simpler than ours. I showed them my previous work and they like it but they said that they don’t need workers now. They did not give a chance to show them what I can do, but in my opinion I think they just hire Swedish people and they did want to hire an immigrant who doesn’t have an experience in Sweden....I can see this through thier words. Then I had the chance to meet someone responsible for arts projects, He has been living in Sweden for 15 years. He told me that you can’t depend on art to live here, you can’t live on the salary of working as an artist, and you have to work with another job beside arts here. You have to take art as a hobby. He adviced me to start alone because it so hard to work with companies at the beginning of your professional career here. I also contacted the employment agency and they told me that they could find a mosaic company and there is someone will call me from the staff. Then they called me but they said that I have to wait another call from them but they never called me back.
Nour.M
Professional Mosaic Artist and Designer From Syria