Newcomers in Malmö: people with globalized experiences and their expectations of the local labor market

Abstract: This study investigates a group of globalized foreign-born people among the new residents in Malmö who came to Sweden mainly in 2005. The life situation of this group of immigrants is not as well studied as the integration problems of refugees. Since the social and labor migration is increasing in Europe and in the whole world it is worth to study the lives of the globalized people in different aspects. The purpose of the study is to define how the foreign-born newcomers try to establish themselves on the Swedish labor market in Malmö. The empirical analysis is based on the interviews with the nine students at Folkuniversitetet, where the newcomers study the Introduction Program offered by Malmö City. The investigation is explorative and basically examines the working experiences and the career expectations of the specific group of the residents in Sweden. The results of the investigation show that most of the respondents have international background, good qualifications and the previous working experience corresponding to the high-skilled labor. Most of them want to continue their careers in Sweden and realize the necessity of getting additional qualifications in order to adjust their profiles to the local needs. Almost all of the respondents have similar attitudes towards work in spite of the different countries of origin. Thanks to their flexible personalities and globalized experiences some of the newcomers have found their way to the modern labor market.