Renovation and integration go hand-in-hand

Renovation of one of the Million Homes housing projects, Vivalla in Orebro, has offered unemployed residents six-month apprenticeships in construction and installation. The Instalco subsidiary, LG Contracting has been contracted for the pipe installations, during which it has supervised many of the trainees and vouched for the success of this model for integration and social sustainability.

Vivalla was built in the late 1960s and it currently has more than 7,000 residents representing at least 60 nationalities. Vivalla is one of the areas where exclusion is a problem. There is a high level of unemployment and welfare dependency.

As with many of the Million Homes housing projects, Vivalla is in great need of renovation and the work to achieve that has been underway for several years. The goal of the renovation work is to transform it into a more safe and positive living environment.

Örebrobostäder, Skanska and the Swedish Public Employment Service have collaborated on a labour market initiative for the unemployed in the area, whereby they are off ered apprenticeships as part of the programme called Boendebyggarna. Apprenticeships are off ered with both contractors and subcontractors so that the trainees can gain valuable experience that will help open up opportunities for them in the labour market. LG Contracting has supervised several trainees within the scope of this project.

“We've been able to off er many who are trapped by exclusion and alienation opportunities that simply weren’t available to them in the past. They have gotten to try a new trade, build a new network of contacts and participate in the work that goes on at a construction site. All of it too, in a friendly environment, without prejudices,” says Mattias Hellman, Project Manager at LG Contracting.

For eight weeks, Samer Awad, of Syrian origin, worked as an apprentice in the Boendebyggare program under the supervision of LG Contracting. Having previously worked with pipe installation in Syria, he had already acquired some skills and experience. Samer wanted to gain additional work-related skills and also improve his Swedish.

“It's an exciting project, where we have been able to get involved and build up everything right from the start. I like being a part of something that helps people and gives them a chance to succeed in the labour market,” says Henrik Lindgren, who was Samer Awad's supervisor at LG Contracting