Written by: Swetha Dua

Swetha Dua is one of our former members who has attended the Jobbsprånget internship program. In this article, she is guiding you step-by-step through it. She also shares her inside tips and advice to help you out when applying for it.

What is Jobbsprånget?

Jobbsprånget is a four-month-long internship program run by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA). It has two application periods: 16 July – 16 August and 16 December – 16 January.

The purpose of this program is to connect newcomer academics with Swedish employers who are in need of specific skills and competencies. It intends to fast-track your entry into the Swedish labor market by offering you a chance to showcase your experience, skills and potential. Skills Panaroma’s EU report for 2014 shows Sweden’s skills under-utilization was at 37% (the problem of over-skilled workers) and the educational mismatch for the age groups 25-34 was at 17.3% in 2019. This platform is essentially trying to bridge this gap between employers having difficulties to find the right people for the job, and the newcomers struggling to enter the job market, thus ensuring efficient skill-matching process, and promoting inclusion.

Why should you apply to internships posted by Jobbsprånget?

For newcomers in Sweden, Jobbsprånget gives a chance to get into the Swedish workforce. Whether you have recently graduated or you are an experienced professional, the internship will offer insights into Swedish working culture and this orientation can set the stage when you start applying to other jobs or at the end of the internship, you may even be offered a permanent position.

The eligibility criteria:

• If you are a newcomer in Sweden and you have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in engineering, architecture, science, pharmacy or business/finance. If your degree doesn’t fall into this category, it’s best to write to jobbspranget@iva.se to seek clarifications.
• You are a college graduate born outside of the EU or other European countries.
• You have a valid residence permit.
• You have a working permit.
• You are registered at Arbetsförmedlingen. You need to do this as a precursor and a mandatory step before you can apply for any opportunity posted on Jobbsprånget.
• You are proficient in English. Proficiency in Swedish is not expected or required as an eligibility to apply to this program.
• Students already in Sweden with a student visa cannot apply to this program. You are also not eligible if you are currently studying full-time at a Swedish university (or other CSN financed studies). Arbetsförmedlingen cannot approve the internship in such cases.

The process:

Step 1: Register on Arbetsförmedlingen. Login with your bank id information and create an account. As part of the registration process, you will need to fill in details about your education, previous jobs, skills and what jobs or roles you are looking for. There is a difference in creating a profile on the website and registering with them. If you are having any trouble doing this, call them on their number 0771-416 416 and be prepared to be on a call for a minimum of 30-45 mins until your turn arrives.

When you are done registering, make sure you take your first appointment with an employment officer. This can be done online through one of the menu options on your login.

Step 2: Create an account on Jobbsprånget. Some key things to bear in mind:

• Be sure to gather the details of your case officer from Arbetsförmedlingen. You will need it. You can call Arbetsförmedlingen once you have registered and ask for these details if you don’t have them.

• You will find your visa class in your residence permit document from the Swedish Migration Agency. I arrived in Sweden on a dependent visa which allows me to work in Sweden as long as the visa is valid.

• While registering on Jobbsprånget I said YES to being eligible on Nystartsjobb without knowing the details. Later, I found out that it should be changed to NO.

What happens during the application window:

Eligibility check: In order to verify your eligibility to participate in Jobbsprånget, Arbetsförmedlingen will probably request a copy of your residence and work permit. I had to send these to: stockholm-city-service@arbetsformedlingen.se The email id may vary depending on where you live in Sweden. Once verified, your candidate status on the portal will reflect one of these color codes. Look out for the status color, and be proactive in moving it to green, if there are any issues.

• Blue = Eligibility has not yet been determined.
• Green = Candidate is eligible for an internship.
• Orange = More information is needed for Arbetsförmedlingen to determine eligibility.
• Red = Candidate is not eligible for an internship.

Jobbsprånget portal: When the last application window opened from Dec 16 2020 – Jan 16 2021, I spent an hour every day scouting for relevant jobs across various industries and sectors. The portal is very easy to use, you can apply filters to look for the right internship positions applicable to you.

Tips:

• Keep your CV updated and have several cover letters ready anticipating the variety of roles you can apply to. For example – I prepared cover letters showcasing my project management experience in different industries, and tailored it to the employer’s industry where it was relevant to do that.
• For each application there will be an option to provide relevant keywords so the employers are able to find your profile and application quickly. One drawback, there’s a character limit on this.
• Also there’s a question on each application asking you to fill in an answer for, “Why are you interested in applying to this internship?” or “Why do you think you are a good fit?”. Fill this, it could be a copy of your cover letter or if it’s too long, you could have a shorter version typed out and have it ready.

Eventually, I went on to apply to a total of 26 applications on the platform and Addressya was the first one to reach out to me on the 12th of Jan even before the Jobbsprånget window closed. After an interview, I was offered a Jobbsprånget internship at Addressya on the 15th. Even though I applied to a BA position, Maria Cheadle, CTO of Addressya recognized that my profile exceeds that of a Business Analyst. She took a leap of faith by offering me an Agile Project Manager role in the Product Development Team.

Photo credit: Jobbsprånget portal, Jobbsprånget online meeting for interns in March 2021.

What happens after you apply?

Jobbsprånget has recently completed this year’s summer internship window between 16 July and 16 August and the portal had posted 950 opportunities for different companies all over Sweden. The next few days the employers will be reaching out to shortlisted applicants and conducting interviews.

What happens once you are shortlisted and you clear the interview? There are a few processes which kick-off in the background once you reach this stage.

1. When you get hired by an employer after an interview, the employer would be sending your confirmation of employment to Jobbsprånget and Arbetsförmedlingen. Arbetsförmedlingen would be then sharing your details with Försäkringskassan.
2. Be sure to look out for a letter from Arbetsförmedlingen which is sent to your house/mailbox with details confirming your internship and also the insurance coverage(in case of a personal injury or death, while still on activity support) that you will receive with this program. I have opted for a digital mailbox on Kivra and so I received the details from Arbetsförmedlingen on the Kivra App.
3. Försäkringkassan is the organization which actually pays the stipend amount during the 4 months of your Jobbsprånget internship. You can login on this site using your Bank ID. It is the Swedish Social Insurance Agency and the program which is in place for this internship is called Aktivitetsstöd. More details about this program are available here as well.
4. Registration on Försäkringskassan: Once you receive the letter, you should login on Försäkringskassan and register your details on Mina Sidor (My pages). Here you will need to enter your bank account details (bank name, clearing number, account number). And also you will need to submit some details every month in order to get your stipend. For example, the time period you worked for during the month (say 3rd March – 31st March) which essentially declares the number of workdays you worked for in that month (23). If you take some days off (planned leave or sick days) during the internship, you will need to declare the days of absence as well.
5. When you register for the first time and submit your monthly report, you might also receive this email from Försäkringskassan on your registered email id. Under Mina Sidor – Ärenden (My pages – Errands), you will see the monthly reports submitted by you for each month

 

How much money will you be paid during the internship?

The stipend amount that you will receive is 223 SEK per day and this does not include taxes. So the total stipend after taxes could range between a min of 3000 SEK to a max of 4000+ SEK if you work full month. As you can see from the email snapshot and also the links shared above for Försäkringskassan, the amount will be paid to you 20 days after the submission of your monthly report and if by any chance you forget to do this before the 7th of the month, gather a lot of patience because that will now be paid after 45 days (next month!)

Here’s wishing good luck to all the participants who applied this season!

-Swetha Dua

Jobbsprånget is regularly invited to information sessions at SDCN where they present the program and answer questions. Usually, the session is held a few weeks before the program starts. Please keep an eye on the Event Calendar!

Last updated 2022/02/08