The Challenges Experienced by African Immigrants in the Swedish Labour Market : A Case of Ugandans in Sweden

Abstract: African immigrants in Sweden are often problematized in political and media debates, especially in relation to the lack of integration into the Swedish labour market. The study is based on primary and secondary data analysis of the challenges Ugandan immigrants experience during the process of navigating themselves in the Swedish labour market. The aim of this study is to examine the challenges experienced by Ugandan immigrants in and within the Swedish labour market.My empirical material was based on the primary data gathered from interviews (semi-structured interviews), which are real-life experiences from immigrants and secondary data from the literature review that formed the study's theoretical background. The theories used during research are human capital, social capital, and integration. During the study, findings revealed that discrimination, the lack of social network, lack of human capital poor knowledge of the Swedish language, and non-recognition of foreign academic qualifications and skills were the major barriers experienced by Ugandan immigrants from entering the Swedish labour market. However, the Swedish government has been able to acknowledge some of those challenges and considered plans have been put in place to tackle these challenges.