School starts for foreign-born engineers

17 foreign-born graduate and university-trained engineers are ready to start school – again. They will be improving their knowledge in areas including culture, social norms in the workplace, safety and the work environment. NCC Nystart is a job market training program developed in cooperation with Kunskapsskolan and the Swedish Public Employment Service.

The participants were welcomed by Svante Hagman, NCC Infrastructure Business Area Manager. He told them about NCC and his own background as a trainee at NCC 30 years ago.

“I’ve always advocated for having an equal number of women and men in our workplace, and have also had a management team which was half women and half men. This is unusual in the construction industry. Now we are looking at the background to this. We need to reflect society, so I’m pleased that we’ve created this training program. It’s great to see you and good luck,” said Svante Hagman.

Today is the opening day of the new training program NCC Nystart at two offices: NCC's Gothenburg office and the head office in Stockholm. NCC has a major need to recruit, which is why a total of 17 students from nine countries have now been given the chance to get new qualifications. They’ll alternate theory and practice at NCC’s construction sites over the course of a year (46 weeks).

“Our participants have significant experience from the construction sector. We look forward to benefiting from their expertise from the many exciting and complex projects they’ve done in their previous jobs,” said Christian Rosenhamer, Director of NCC Academy.

The training program is intended to promote integration, reduce unemployment and meet NCC’s substantial recruitment needs. The program will create opportunities to make use of the skills of foreign-born engineers while speeding up their journey into the job market.

NCC actively works to promote greater diversity and inclusion at its workplaces, which leads to better outcomes and better business.

“NCC Nystart is a way to expand our recruitment base and reach new target groups. Diversity and inclusion at our workplaces are important issues for us at NCC, and this is a way to achieve them,” said Henrik Landelius, Sweden Head at NCC Building.

Two participants discuss their expectations

Blanca Sandoval, engineer with an MS in Engineering


What are your expectations for the training program?
I want to be prepared to work at NCC. I want to improve my Swedish language skills, as well as my knowledge of technical language in the construction industry.

What’s your background and previous experience?
I have a Master of Science in Engineering, specializing in construction techniques for water and sanitation. I worked as a capacity developer in Colombia and worked in rural community planning there.

What sort of work do you hope to find in the construction industry in the future?
In the future, I would like to plan, manage and coordinate different stages of a civil engineering project. Or else I’d like to be involved in building residential properties.

Farshad Almasi, Construction engineer

What are your expectations for the training program?
To learn practical skills that will lead to employment.

What’s your background and previous experience?
I worked as a construction engineer in foundation engineering and infrastructure in Iran. In Sweden, I worked for three months at a building firm that wasn’t that stable, but I still gained some knowledge.

What sort of work do you hope to find in the construction industry in the future?
My objective is to be site manager at a construction site in three or four years. It’s important to me to get into the industry right from the start and work my way up. You need to be driven, and not just sit in a corner and wait to be given a task.