2015 was a record year as 163 000 asylum seekers arrived in Sweden to seek shelter, the highest per-capita inflow ever registered in an OECD country. A significant share of these asylum seekers are expected to receive international protection. Favourable labour market conditions and highly developed and longstanding integration policies ensured that Sweden was well prepared to deal with this sudden increase. Existing integration measures have been scaled up and several new initiatives launched – including a fast-track initiative to integrate skilled refugees into shortage occupations. This review examines the skills and labour market situation of immigrants and their children in the context outlined above.

The remainder of the report is structured as follows: The report starts with an assessment and recommendations. Chapter 1 presents an overview of context in which integration in Sweden takes place – the labour market context and the background and composition of Sweden’s foreign-born population. Chapter 2 sets out the framework for the settlement of newly-arrived refugees in Sweden and outlines the core policies at the heart of early integration efforts. Chapter 3 examines the routes through which migrants can acquire and build the skills that are necessary in Swedish society and on Swedish labour markets before Chapter 4 turns to the employer demand for these skills and how policy is working to strengthen this demand. Finally Chapter 5 looks at the mechanisms through which skills supply is matched to skill demand in order to ensure that migrants are able to find employment that makes appropriate use of the skills, qualifications and experience.

DOI: 10.1787/9789264257382-en