Karin Heri of Malmö FF: Time for new legislation to boost labour market opportunities
Swedish Allsvenskan champions Malmö FF and the City Council of Malmö act in a cooperation model to fight local unemployment. Sweden’s 20,000 sports clubs could, like Malmö FF with their Career Academy, initiate more partnerships to create greater social benefits and a stronger labour market, writes Karin Heri, Head of Community Affairs and Sustainability of Malmö FF.
The Swedish economy is starting to brighten after more than a year of pandemic. Nevertheless, the country continues to need action in a number of areas to accelerate the reconstruction of society, including the labour market as unemployment remains high and the effects of the pandemic are expected to be long-lasting. It will require efforts to tackle this long term unemployment and match job seekers to be prepared for the available jobs. This is something that Malmö FF and several other associations are ready to assist with.
Matching different needs
As part of Malmö FF’s community involvement, we run the Career Academy. The activity is based on matching the needs of the companies in Malmö FF’s network with the skills available among those enrolled in the Public Employment Service or Malmö City’s labour market department. Actually, over 260 unemployed Malmö residents have been matched to jobs among the club’s partner companies and a further 450 people have gone on to studies and internships.
These are people, both young and old, who have managed to find a daily life and a place in society. We at Malmö FF are proud of the work that has been done by all parties. But we would like to emphasise that the activities would not have been possible without the cooperation model between Malmö FF and the City of Malmö, called Ideburen öffentliche Partnerschaft (IOP).
Partnerships to solve societal challenges
These IOP-models are based on partnerships between non-profit organisations and the public sector to solve specific societal challenges. The advantages of the partnership are its flexibility and reciprocity, as well as the inclusion of quality objectives and clear co-financing by all parties. IOPs are tailored to local needs, from women’s shelters to the labour market initiatives we run at Malmö FF.
Although societal goals can and have been met, the model currently has no clear definition or legal status. This complicates the development and improvement of IOPs, as municipalities and regions apply a principle of legal caution.
Create greater social benefit
The Civil Society Start-up Group (Nysta) recently released a report that explores how the relationship between government, business and civil society can become more equal and thus create greater social benefit. In the report, Nystahighlights that IOPs are a form of cooperation that needs to be developed. One of the proposals is for the government to develop legislation and regulations that are adapted to non-profit organisations, which include the IOP model. This would clarify the form and expectations of partnership agreements, giving municipalities and regions greater certainty and better conditions for developing partnerships with IOPs.
We at Malmö FF support Nystas’ proposal. Civil society must be included in a better way if we want to see a rapid reconstruction of Sweden after the pandemic. It is civil society that has the contacts, the knowledge and the methods that can strengthen people. Today there are around 20 000 sports clubs in Sweden, with up to 3 million active members. What if these associations, like Malmö FF, could initiate more partnerships to create social benefits and a stronger labour market? This could lead to major improvements in a short time. New legislation and regulations should therefore be reviewed – so that we do not miss out on growth and labour market opportunities.
© Extract from Interview published in Swedish newspaper Dagens Samhälle
Find here previous interviews with Karin Heri and information about Malmö FF’s Career Academy
