Attraktionskraft Värmland – an investment to strengthen the future supply of skills
About this good practice
The need for skills in Värmland is great in several industries. At the same time, analyses show that the most gender-segregated industries also have the greatest recruiting problems. A gender-segregated labour market where men dominate in the manufacturing- and tech industry and women in healthcare and public sector, means that many of the county's employers miss out on using the entire recruitment base.
In Attraktionskraft Värmland, Region Värmland, cluster organisations, municipalities and the private sector, collaborate around building commitment and awareness of gender equality aspects linked to skills supply, training and recruitment. The project supports employers with knowledge and tools to become more inclusive and thus take their own initiatives for a more equal operation, with an inclusive culture and equal recruitment. Several activities are carried out together with the employers to create direct and long-term development in the organizations.
The project is focusing on four main activities:
- Leadership trainings for businesses with focus on its leader's role in leading the gender equality work
- Diploma courses for cluster staff to understand the benefits of an equal workplace
- Breakfast seminars within equality and inclusion topics
- Development of information and tools on a unified platform, Schyst.se, a user-friendly website where a broad target group can find inspiration, knowledge and concrete exercises and material linked to equality and inclusion.
Resources needed
The project is regionally funded and has a budget of SEK 18 M. Staff from Region Värmland and the clusters organisations, Compare, IUC Stål & Verkstad and Paper Province are jointly managing the project. The budget includes procurements of training concept, diploma courses and communication/web.
Evidence of success
30 business leaders have undergone leadership trainings and 38 cluster staff have received a gender equality work diploma. In 2024, another 60 leaders will be trained.
Three breakfast seminars have been held within the topic of equality and inclusion for a broad target group of 300 people.
The project has yielded excellent results already. Several business leaders have started the work of bringing their knowledge further in their organizations to make their companies equal and inclusive.
Potential for learning or transfer
In Attraktionskraft Värmland, we want to support employers to become more attractive on the labour market. To become more attractive, employers need to work with attitudes, norms and values so that workplaces become more equal and inclusive. By working actively with gender equality, organisations in Europe can gain:
- Business benefit
- Competitiveness
- Quality
- Community benefit
- Health.
We started by investigating how employers worked with equality and inclusion. The result showed that support, inspiration, tools and trainings are needed in Värmland.
To investigate how organisations work with equality and inclusion is something that all regions with recruitment difficulties could benefit from. Based on result, various activities to improve gender equality and inclusion can be implemented. We found it important to start with the leaders of the organisations so they can take their own initiatives for a more equal operation - with an inclusive culture and equal recruitment.