What are the most future-proof jobs in Sweden for graduates?
Saco, an umbrella organisation for 21 of Sweden's unions for graduates, presented the 2025 edition of its yearly
Framtidsutsikter
report on March 17th, the same day university applications opened for the 2025 autumn semester.
The report provides a five-year forecast for the career prospects of graduates from a range of graduate degrees, drawing on the knowledge of Saco's 21 member unions.
Here's what they said.
Which graduates will struggle the most to find work?
The majority of careers in Saco's study (33 of a total 55 careers) will have little competition for jobs in five years time.
This includes people studying a role within healthcare or teaching, as well as roles within tech, IT or science.
Some specific careers listed in the study which fall into this category are opticians, chemists, psychologists, dentists, upper secondary school teachers and year 7-9 teachers, mathematicians and engineers.
Within IT, roles in this category include system and software developers and system administrators, for example.
READ MORE:
Who can study for free in Sweden?
The next group, which includes 17 different careers, will graduate into a 'balanced' labour market, where demand is roughly the same as supply. This includes doctors, lawyers, teachers of year 6 and below, biologists and vets.
A balanced labour market isn't necessarily a bad thing, the report reads, as it can be a sign of a healthy labour market with good working conditions, fair pay and a high chance of finding employment. In a similar vein, it's not always good news that there is no competition for a job – it can be a sign of low pay and bad working conditions.
Advertisement
Finally, five groups of graduates will have a lot of competition for employment when looking for a job in five years' time. This group includes architects, people working in communications and museum and cultural workers, as well as
hälsovetare
and
samhällsvetare.
A
hälsovetare
can be a number of different health-related jobs focusing on improving people's health and wellbeing, rather than treatment of illnesses or disease. This includes, for example, people working within public health as well as health consultants employed in the workplace to improve the health of staff.
Samhällsvetare
is another umbrella term which roughly translates to 'social scientist' in English. People in this group may work in project management in business or the civil service, as teachers or administrators in academia, as statisticians or report-writers in interest organisations or in communicative roles.
Advertisement
Are there any regional variations?
The report also looked into how the likelihood of finding work differs between different regions, between urban and rural areas, and between the north and south of the country.
There are variations depending on where in the country you're looking for a job, it said, with one example being that it's often more difficult to find work in university towns where graduates may want to stay after they finish their studies.
Demand for civil engineers is relatively stable across the country, due to the fact that around 70 percent of people in this group work from home at least once a week. However, demand for civil engineers has not been as high in northern Sweden as previously expected.
SEE ALSO:
What you need to know about applying to university in Sweden
Doctors are more likely to face competition in urban areas, while it's easier for them to find work in rural areas or areas where the population is shrinking.
Lawyers are another example, with the majority working in Stockholm or in other cities and towns where government agencies or larger companies are based.
In general, it's worth looking further afield if you're finding it difficult to find work where you live. According to the report, it's common for the labour market to be balanced in one region but more competitive elsewhere.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Local Sweden
17-03-2025
- Local Sweden
What are the most future-proof jobs in Sweden for graduates?
Saco, an umbrella organisation for 21 of Sweden's unions for graduates, presented the 2025 edition of its yearly Framtidsutsikter report on March 17th, the same day university applications opened for the 2025 autumn semester. The report provides a five-year forecast for the career prospects of graduates from a range of graduate degrees, drawing on the knowledge of Saco's 21 member unions. Here's what they said. Which graduates will struggle the most to find work? The majority of careers in Saco's study (33 of a total 55 careers) will have little competition for jobs in five years time. This includes people studying a role within healthcare or teaching, as well as roles within tech, IT or science. Some specific careers listed in the study which fall into this category are opticians, chemists, psychologists, dentists, upper secondary school teachers and year 7-9 teachers, mathematicians and engineers. Within IT, roles in this category include system and software developers and system administrators, for example. READ MORE: Who can study for free in Sweden? The next group, which includes 17 different careers, will graduate into a 'balanced' labour market, where demand is roughly the same as supply. This includes doctors, lawyers, teachers of year 6 and below, biologists and vets. A balanced labour market isn't necessarily a bad thing, the report reads, as it can be a sign of a healthy labour market with good working conditions, fair pay and a high chance of finding employment. In a similar vein, it's not always good news that there is no competition for a job – it can be a sign of low pay and bad working conditions. Advertisement Finally, five groups of graduates will have a lot of competition for employment when looking for a job in five years' time. This group includes architects, people working in communications and museum and cultural workers, as well as hälsovetare and samhällsvetare. A hälsovetare can be a number of different health-related jobs focusing on improving people's health and wellbeing, rather than treatment of illnesses or disease. This includes, for example, people working within public health as well as health consultants employed in the workplace to improve the health of staff. Samhällsvetare is another umbrella term which roughly translates to 'social scientist' in English. People in this group may work in project management in business or the civil service, as teachers or administrators in academia, as statisticians or report-writers in interest organisations or in communicative roles. Advertisement Are there any regional variations? The report also looked into how the likelihood of finding work differs between different regions, between urban and rural areas, and between the north and south of the country. There are variations depending on where in the country you're looking for a job, it said, with one example being that it's often more difficult to find work in university towns where graduates may want to stay after they finish their studies. Demand for civil engineers is relatively stable across the country, due to the fact that around 70 percent of people in this group work from home at least once a week. However, demand for civil engineers has not been as high in northern Sweden as previously expected. SEE ALSO: What you need to know about applying to university in Sweden Doctors are more likely to face competition in urban areas, while it's easier for them to find work in rural areas or areas where the population is shrinking. Lawyers are another example, with the majority working in Stockholm or in other cities and towns where government agencies or larger companies are based. In general, it's worth looking further afield if you're finding it difficult to find work where you live. According to the report, it's common for the labour market to be balanced in one region but more competitive elsewhere.
Local Sweden
10-01-2025
- Local Sweden
Swedish word of the day: käka
The word käka is a slang word meaning eat. It comes from the word käke, meaning jaw, for obvious reasons. Käft is another term for jaw, which is usually used for animals or colloquially (and slightly offensively) for humans, like in the phrase håll käften (shut up) or käfta emot (talk back). Your upper jaw is your överkäke, while the lower jaw is the underkäke. A jaw surgeon, also referred to as a maxillofacial surgeon in English, is a käkkirurg. Don't miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading The Local's app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button Anyway, back to käka. As mentioned, it's a slang word, so you'll usually only hear it used when referring to informal meals or snacks. If you invited someone over to käka middag, for example, this would be something closer to 'coming over for a bite to eat' rather than inviting them over for a formal dinner party. It can also be used as a noun, käk, which refers to food – roughly equivalent to the English word "grub". Example sentences: Vad vill du käka ikväll? What do you want to eat tonight? Har du fixat käk eller ska jag handla något på vägen? Did you get food or should I grab something on the way? Villa, Volvo, Vovve: The Local's Word Guide to Swedish Life, written by The Local's journalists, is available to order. Head to to read more about it.
Local Sweden
04-12-2024
- Local Sweden
Swedish word of the day: paltkoma
Paltkoma is the tiredness and sense of weakness which befalls someone who is very full after a hearty meal. A food coma. What is palt? Palt is a famous Swedish traditional dish, more common perhaps in the northern parts of the country. Palt comes in different forms, some with different regional names like kams, klubba, klåbb, klöbba. The more "normal" palt is a type of meat-filled potato dumpling. Traditionally served with butter and some form of lingonberry preserve, but also a glass of cold milk. There is even a variant made of blood, which can be anything from pig's blood to reindeer's blood, and is known as blodpalt. The -koma in paltkoma is simply "coma". Paltkoma is a very new word, only attested since 1996, and surely derived from the English "food coma". In fact, m atkoma is the more common form, which is a literal translation of "food coma". Another little gem some people use with the same meaning is rotvälta, a word normally used to describe a fallen tree that has it roots ripped up and exposed, what in English is called a "windthrow". In this sense, however, rotvälta would imply a matkoma from eating a lot of potatoes, or other roots, since it literally means "root fall" or falling over from roots. Though paltkoma is a very new word, Swedish does have an older word for the same phenomenon: dästhet. But try saying you feel a bit of dästhet coming on to your Swedish friends, and many, if not most of them, will either ask you what you mean, or tell you that whatever it is you are saying is not a Swedish word. At that point, you can dazzle them with your newfound knowledge. Don't miss any of our Swedish words and expressions of the day by downloading The Local's app (available on Apple and Android) and then selecting the Swedish Word of the Day in your Notification options via the User button Should you want to take it to the next level, there is a scientific term for this condition. It is called "postprandial somnolence", or in Swedish: postprandiell trötthet. Although the exact causes of the phenomenon are not known, two characteristics are well established: You feel low in energy and sleepiness, somehow related to the activation of your parasympathetic nervous system after having ingested food. What is the parasympathetic nervous system you ask? Well, according to the National Library of Medicine, an American governmental site, "the parasympathetic nervous system predominates in quiet 'rest and digest' conditions while the sympathetic nervous system drives the 'fight or flight' response in stressful situations. [Its] main purpose is to conserve energy to be used later and to regulate bodily functions like digestion and urination." Important to note here is that being stricken with a paltkoma is absolutely natural. In fact, it is a widespread phenomenon in the animal kingdom, where even such simple lifeforms as nematodes experience it (perhaps not from palt though). You will surely experience a proper paltkoma if you are enjoying the more traditional type of Swedish Christmas dinner this year, so the best of luck for dealing with it. We leave you with a few tips provided by health website Healthline: eat modest portions, choose balanced meals, limit your alcohol intake, stay hydrated, use bright lights, get a good night's sleep, and if all else fails, throw in the towel and take a quick nap. Example sentences: Älskling, hjälp, paltkoma! Honey, help, palt coma! Visste du att den vetenskapliga termen för paltkoma är postprandiell trötthet? Did you know that the scientific term for a "palt coma" is postprandial somnolence?
