Filipstad – The journey towards employment

The assignment was based on the local project MOVE and Filipstad's unemployment data, which shows that the employment gap between native-born and foreign-born people in the municipality is growing faster and faster. In collaboration with both stakeholders and unemployed citizens, possible paths to securing a job were mapped from both a system and individual perspective. The result was visualised in an "actors map" that provides an organisational overview as well as highlights where there are friction points in the system. In addition, findings were presented in the form of personas and user journeys that depict the real experiences of citizens seeking jobs.

The project resulted in a number of conclusions about shortcomings in the system that constitute obstacles for people who are far from employment, such as refugees, immigrants and the long-term unemployed. Examples of identified challenges are that confidentiality regulations constitute a major obstacle to collaboration between actors, and that different initiatives can "compete" for the same target group. Job seekers experience the system as a "mess", rather than a journey. Poor health is a common aspect in the stories that were shared with us, and it seems like the system itself can cause negative spiral effects and deterioration in individuals' well-being. 

We can see that harmful norms and societal values have a negative effect on unemployed citizens, both on a personal level but also based on how the support systems are designed. This has a strong impact on how well an individual succeeds in his or her journey towards employment. Meanwhile, we could identify loads of potential, strong commitment and good existing solutions in Filipstad that would be worth investing in further. If individuals receive the right help at the right time, much suffering and socio-economic losses can be avoided.