Tobias was attracted by the developments in Skellefteå

Civil engineer Tobias Tonvall was faced with a life choice: should he stay in his home town of Luleå or move? Thanks to an advertisement from the consulting company Etteplan, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. The company works actively to recruit from outside and notices a great interest in Skellefteå.

Tobias was born and raised in Luleå, where he studied to become a civil engineer. After his studies, he got a job at the Swedish Transport Administration. Eventually he met a girl from Skellefteå.

- For several years we thought about where to live. Move together in Luleå, Skellefteå or somewhere else, he says.

That the choice finally fell on Skellefteå began with a job ad on Linkedin from the company Etteplan, a technology services company specializing in services and solutions in technical information and documentation, technology, software and embedded systems.

- I had never heard of Etteplan before. But the job seemed to fit my profile and I got a great feeling for the company, says Tobias.

The position advertised was an information coordinator role. Something that suits Tobias, who says he likes to keep projects in order. But there were also other things that attracted him.

- There is so much going on in Skellefteå, and it felt attractive to work with customers in the industry. If you live in Skellefteå, you can be involved in things that only happen once.

"There is great interest from outside"

Petra Toffia is department manager for Etteplan in Skellefteå. The company works actively to recruit from other locations.

- We do this because we know how complicated the issue of skills supply in Skellefteå and the north is right now. The experience is that the interest from outside is great, many have read or heard about Skellefteå and are very positive about having the opportunity to become part of the development and all the new things here, she says.

LinkedIn is one of the platforms that the company uses to reach outside Skellefteå and the region when advertising and recruiting.

- We generally work a lot with being visible in various social media and help each other within the organization to spread job ads between our respective regions. We want to find the right people with the right skills and therefore we often advertise widely from a geographical perspective.

Adding competence

Petra sees several advantages in recruiting from other locations.

- Then we add further fine skills to Skellefteå while increasing the number of inhabitants and thus growth in the region. It is also extremely enriching to get new perspectives and thoughts - and the fact that old truths are challenged can only be good, I think.

Petra believes that an interesting advertisement is a good start, and that the company's "forward-looking" profile attracted Tobias' interest.

- A good job ad is of course step one. We are a growth company that invests a lot in development. The office in Skellefteå is new and a lot is happening all the time. With us, you become part of the development in the region, she says.

The first contact is also very important, she believes.

- It gives the candidate a first impression of us as a company. The interview is as much the candidate's as our opportunity to get answers to questions, says Petra.

Got started quickly

When Tobias was offered the job, he didn't have to think long. After the summer, he moved to Skellefteå. And he has quickly settled into his new job.

- Everything has worked well. "We had an event during my second week where I got to meet colleagues from other offices in Sweden, which was very positive, he says.

The company has worked actively to ensure good onboarding.

- We have an internal onboarding program that all new employees go through. New employees come in with good skills for the job, so the natural thing is an early and active participation in customer contact and of course to start working on customer assignments as soon as possible, says Petra Toffia.

Acclimatizing to his new hometown has also gone quickly for Tobias.

- I've been getting to know the city for several years, thanks to my fiancée. In general, there is a bit more of a small town feel than in Luleå, in a good way. It is a cozy city with many nice people. Many things are close by because the city is a bit more compact, and it's a bit less windy than in Luleå, of course.