I’m Dutch and I’ve been getting Facebook ads about how amazing it is to start a new life in Skelleftea (how oddly specific). Complete with a form asking me what my country of origin and area of expertise are.
The whole thing links to [visitskelleftea.se](https://visitskelleftea.se) so it actually seems to be legit.
I’m just curious, is Sweden having a population problem? I know a lot of countries have problems with the countryside depopulating because people are moving to the big cities. But this ad campaign actually seems to promote moving into the countryside because there are opportunities to start a life.
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Sweden is not experiencing a population problem, visit Skelleftea is just a tourist website by that Municipality that of course want to advertise their place to get people to visit the place as a tourist…
They are building a massive high tech battery factory in Skellefteå, so this sleepy northern town (about which in-breeding jokes are common) will have to get a lot of foreign specialists to move there. So my guess is that this is specifically about Skellefteå, and that they’re trying to market the town abroad to make it more attractive to move there for those foreigners.
Skellefteå is a city (not countryside but the countryside is close) that’s growing fast, Northvolt got a big factory there and need staff (plus everything around it needs staff). Due to this factory the housing market in Skellefteå has been the hottest in Sweden for two years now, prices have pretty much doubled in three years.
Whole North of Sweden needs tens of thousands of workers, even potentially hundreds of thousands in next decades.
Ads and Immigration is a great way to find people.
Skellefteå is a hot spot in Sweden because of Northvolt.
I should have to do with Northvolt (Gigantic battery factory). The biggest challenge for them is to attract the skilled labor they need. This part of Sweden is far away from Swedens center of population, so it’s a challenge to recruit. That’s why they are trying abroad also.
Are you moving?
Lotsa dutch people move to the Swedish country side.
My region even had some sort of embassy down in Holland.
Yeah, it is the battery factory.
Otherwise… one of us, one of us, one of us
You probably mentioned the word sweden and/or moving when your phone was close on the table. Facebook hears everything. My parents want to buy a campervan and we were talkinf about that last time i was there. At home, my partners phone started showing ads for campervans.
Sweden changed its labour policies and “nerfed” the Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) since the 90’s and onward which has created a matching problem on the labour market. Now that we need skilled labour due to investments in green industry in the north, companies are opting to recruit foreign labour instead (it is also an effective way to preclude the relatively high job security that Swedish workers enjoy).
You have been chosen, just accept your new fate as a Skelleftebo