BACKGROUND & VISION

Mitt Livs Val was founded in 2015 with the vision to create an inclusive society where youths have the conditions to impact their future. We operate in Gothenburg and Stockholm with our head-office in Gothenburg. We work with youngsters in the ages 16-23 who are new in Sweden. Being new in a society at a young age can be both tough and difficult to navigate. Particularly so when it comes to education, the Swedish language, and choosing future study- and career paths. Thus, we wanted to make a difference by evening out the unequal conditions that makes it harder for newly arrived migrant youths to attain education and to participate in society.

WHY IS mitt livs val NEEDED?

Today it is evident that your socioeconomic background oftentimes determines your prospects for the future. 90 % of domestic youths obtain their secondary upper high school diploma (gymnasiebehörighet) and can apply for tertiary education. For newly arrived migrants youths (arriving to Sweden at age 13 or older, from a non-European country) that number is only 23 %*. The same trends are visible in the labour market. We know that education is key to increasing the societal participation as well as it is crucial to counter social exclusion, segregation, and unemployment. Hence, it is essential to receive knowledge around education, the labour market, and different opportunities at an early stage. This paves way for the ability to shape your own path towards future goals within studies and work.

Nowadays, the labor market increasingly requires a higher education. Our target group is the most underrepresented within higher education in Sweden. Thus, it is an important group to reach. We want to see a higher number of foreign-born youths entering higher education. Therefore, with the help of university students and working professionals we aim to lower the thresholds of higher education and secondly the labour market.

OUR SOLUTION

We wish to change this through our programs within education and labour market for newly arrived migrant youths. In our programs the youths gain access to information and knowledge as well as motivation and inspiration. They meet role models from universities as well as professionals from different lines of work.

Since we launched our program in 2016 we have been working with motivational programs focused on studies and education. In the program the youths meet university students and attend workshops to gain increased study motivation, knowledge about study paths, and better prospects for their futures. We have further developed this concept with our mentorprogram. In the mentorprogram each youth is assigned a personal mentor from university who supports them in their specific study goal throughout the semester. FRAMÅT!, a labour market preparation program, is our latest addition to our programs. It was founded in 2020 to bridge the gaps between education and labour market. Through FRAMÅT! youths meet role models from different professions to gain knowledge, skills and new connections in the labour market. Hence, through our three programs we offer the youths an overarching package with support and knowledge within both studies/education and the labour market. They get to meet and exchange experiences with university students and professionals.

In addition, we run a Trainee program where we offer previous participants a position within Mitt Livs Val. As Mitt Livs Val’s Trainee they develop skills within leadership, project management, presentation technique and so on. We practice as we preach. While we work towards making more companies and organisations opening up their workspaces for migrant youths, we also do the same within Mitt Livs Val.

Everything we do at Mitt Livs Val is centred around our core values, namely: inclusion, education, commitment, and knowledge. We are highly committed to supporting the youths on their paths towards their goals within education and working life since we strongly believe that these are two of the key factors in breaking social exclusion.

SOURCE:

Integration – utrikes föddas etablering i arbets- och samhällslivet, SCB (2016)