The challenge of recruitment in the welfare industry
According to Bodil Umegård from SKR, Sweden is facing a demographic challenge. The older generations need more and more care and concern, while the working population is getting smaller. This results in fewer people having to care for more.
According to SKR's latest forecast, the number of employees in welfare needs to increase by 132,000 people during 2019–2029, which means 13,200 new employees per year. But simply educating more people is not the solution. The workforce will not be enough.
There is a shortage in care for the elderly and healthcare, but also preschools and schools are expecting large retirements. Simply focusing on recruiting more nurses, teachers or police officers is no longer enough. New strategies are needed, says Umegård.
Possible solutions to the supply of skills in welfare
One solution may be to retain and develop current staff while reassessing competencies. Another possibility is to consider a CV-free recruitment process that focuses on competence and motivation instead of experience alone. There, more people can get the chance to demonstrate their strengths and thereby open up more people to apply, not just limiting themselves to those with relevant work experience. The recruitment tool Higher offers a mobile application process without a CV and adapted for industries that today have a significant staff shortage. Higher also provides GDPR / Schrems II and is therefore a reliable tool for Swedish municipalities and county councils.
Getting more people to work full-time can also reduce the need for new hires. It is common to work part-time in healthcare and increasing the working hours per employee can reduce the need for more recruitments.
Bodil Umegård also mentions the importance of getting older people to stay longer in working life. The average retirement age is 64 in municipalities and regions. By extending working hours to 67 years, retirements are significantly reduced every year.
More staff are needed in health and social care
But it is also about attracting new people to care and social care. Employers in the public sector emphasize that work in welfare is meaningful and that there is rapid technological development that can be attractive. SKR has initiated "Sweden's most important job" with material to support municipalities and regions in the recruitment work.
According to Umegård, welfare's selling point for attracting and retaining staff is partly its meaning and contribution to social development. During the pandemic, interest in healthcare jobs increased, which showed the importance of the profession despite its stresses.
The big challenge with securing competence
There is no doubt that Sweden faces a difficult challenge when it comes to securing sufficient competence in welfare. With new strategies and a re-examination of the composition of the workforce, including exploring CV-free recruitment that focuses on skills and motivation rather than experience alone, we can hope to meet this challenge successfully.
