Camilla found a job and housing in three weeks
Finding your way in both the job and housing markets can take a long time. But if you dare to try something new, it can happen really quickly. Three weeks after graduating in 2022, Camilla Nordin was acting business controller for one of Europe's largest sawmills and owner of a manor house with its own beach.
– I wanted a place with lots of space for myself and my dog August. This place had everything.
- You shouldn't complicate things. If you want to do something fun - do it! If you see a fun job - apply for it!
In the early summer of 2022, Camilla Nordin had studied for four years and had plans for another year to take a master's degree in economics. Then the job as business controller at SCA Wood and Bollsta sawmill came up. Camilla had a very suitable education, but really far too little experience. She applied for the job, and three weeks later the contract was on the table: if you want the job, it's yours.
At the same time, an odd object appeared on the housing market: an annex to the historic Utansjö Manor, sold as a condominium. Six rooms and a kitchen a stone's throw from Mörtsjön, a swimming area on the plot and nature on the doorstep. All for a price that she could barely get a one-bedroom apartment for in her hometown of Sundsvall.
- "I wanted a place that I could do things with in my spare time and grow a little,
and I wanted a lot of space for my dog August. And this place had everything.
Here, too, the contract was soon on the table, and the housing issue was solved.
In late fall 2023, Camilla, 26, is in her second year on the job as business controller and is thus ultimately responsible for the financial planning of one of Europe's largest and most modern sawmills.
- It's actually a lot of fun! In an automotive industry, for example, lots of parts have to be assembled into a final product and there's only one way to do it. In a sawmill, every log is unique and you have to make the best of each one. Things happen all the time.
"I wanted a place where I could do some crafts in my spare time and grow some crops, and I wanted a lot of space for my dog August. And this place had it all."
Camilla Nordin, tf business controller.
From student life in Sundsvall and Umeå to everyday life in two small farming communities - how has it worked? Answer: Yes, thank you, very well!
- I have been incredibly well received, both in Bollstabruk and Utansjö. People are friendly and helpful and moving here instead of just commuting in has been very positive. I've settled in well - I've just passed my hunting exam and become treasurer of the shooting club in Bollsta.
The sawmill has 142 employees and also employs a large number of subcontractors every day. "It's a big workplace in a small town, and SCA and the sawmill mean a lot to the whole community.
At the same time, employers in smaller towns sometimes have difficulty recruiting. Larger groups have their own programs to find the staff they need, and in Ångermanland some 40 technology companies also work together in the Höga Kusten Industrigrupp (HKIG) on issues such as skills supply.
Camilla Nordin is well aware that she would have found it difficult to get the same job in a larger town. "You don't normally get responsibility for the economy at a workplace with around 150 employees straight after graduation.
- This is not really a first job. But in a smaller town, there are often fewer applicants for vacant positions, and that also means that when you're quite young, you have the chance to get jobs that are really interesting and fun.
New homes and new jobs
Move here
In 2020, Linda and Per Grön became - somewhat by accident - summer house owners. A year ago, they made a move. They left Switzerland, where they had lived for five years, and made their summer house in Vike, Stigsjö, their home.
Establishments
In Torsboda, 20 minutes south of Härnösand, a battery parts factory with 1 900 employees is underway. With room for further establishments, there are already several interested parties.
Housing
There are several housing projects under way in Härnösand. Villas and apartments close to the sea, chain houses, terraced houses. All close to the city center, the sea and nature.