Hiring embedded expertise from all over the world - AFRY invests in cross-border employment

Some candidates have an easier time searching for a job than others. Embedded systems - people who build the “Internet of Things” haven’t had much trouble finding work. The challenge for many companies is to find the right skills at the right time.

Meet Tommy Klevin, Section Manager within Embedded Systems at AFRY

Tommy Klevin works as Section Manager within embedded systems and has the whole world as playing field for hiring.

"I think all of us who has ever worked with recruitment experience, finds it difficult to find needed competencies. I also think that many of us get a lot of applications from candidates with foreign backgrounds", Tommy says.

One of the reasons why it is difficult to get the right competence, is that significantly fewer embedded engineers are graduated than the demand on the market. Tommy decided to give it a try, to see if candidates with foreign backgrounds could help to find the competence he needed in his section. An ongoing trend that he saw coming a long time ago.

Building strength through diversity

Right now, 25% of his section is persons with foreign backgrounds. They are from India, Iran and Bangladesh.

"My experience is that these people who decide to break up from their countries and families, are highly motivated and most of them with academic backgrounds", Tommy says.

The people who have been employed, have been working or studying in Sweden for 1-3 years, so they have some knowledge about how it is to live in Sweden.

By embracing multiple points of view, organisations gain a more holistic and realistic understanding of their clients’ and employees. Tommy believes that focus on understanding and engaging difference is key.

"When you are working with complex product development you need to develop a good understanding of your clients' needs, in the same way as when it comes to the relation with my employees", he says.

"It can also drive innovation and problem-solving by pushing people to look at old challenges from a new perspective", he continues.

Finally, diversity broadens talent has been shown to make all employees more engaged and productive.

"To succeed with this type of hiring, requires that you also have good support from your recruitment partner at HR as well as from in this case of Amir Nazari who is Inclusion & Diversity Manager at AFRY and helped with all the contacts towards The Swedish Migration Agency", Tommy explains.

To believe in yourself and to have a certain amount of confidence is valuable skills when it comes to hiring. These are abilities Tommy has developed during his 18 years at AFRY.

"A new exciting dimension in my daily job now is of course that we have several talented co-workers from India, Iran and Bangladesh. This is developing for me as a Manager, as I realize that despite a few differences, we are similar as people", Tommy concludes.