Spanish vets move to Sweden

How did the idea of this collaboration originate?

– When we organised our European (Online) Job Days in 2021, we received several questions from veterinary clinics in Sweden asking if we could help them recruit veterinarians from Europe. We learned that there was a need for at least 350 vets in Sweden, so we started thinking about ways to find the right candidates. Through the EURES network, we learned that there was a small surplus of veterinarians in Spain, so we asked our Spanish colleagues if they could work with us on a joint project. Our project was joined by Evidensia, a Swedish veterinary clinic that participated in our European (Online) Job Days in 2021. Evidensia followed us in Spain to recruit veterinarians on site.

Could you tell us a bit more about the info sessions that you organised?

– As part of the promotion of the info sessions, we produced an ad informing Spanish veterinarians about the opportunities for them in Sweden. The ad gave jobseekers practical information about our recruitment events, working in Sweden, as well as links to more information. EURES Spain even managed to promote our event on national television!

We ran the information sessions on 18 and 19 May 2022. It was very important that candidates could easily get information in their own language. That’s why Evidensia brought a Spanish-speaking vet working in Sweden to answer potential applicants’ questions.

“It was great to come back to on-site recruitment. An online interview can never give you as much information as a face-to-face meeting, where EURES Advisers can clear out any doubts that companies or jobseekers may have.” Said Eva Octavio de Toledo Gutiérrez, EURES Adviser, Spain.

On the first day of the event, we met with many educated and experienced veterinarians. Our colleagues at Evidensia were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the candidates. And on the second day, we met with 22 veterinary students from Zaragoza. One of the candidates even spoke Swedish!

We also participated in the European (Online) Job Days ‘Health professionals, veterinarians and teachers for Sweden’. Together with Evidensia, we livestreamed from the recruitment event in Zaragoza, showing that we can recruit both online and on site. As a result of the three info sessions, Evidensia are planning to continue the recruitment process with around eight veterinarians.

What did you learn from planning these events?

– Zaragoza was an excellent city for the pilot event. In the future, we will explore the possibility to visit more Spanish cities to attract more candidates. We also learned that every four years the Spanish state organises a recruitment event for veterinarians. So for our next events, we will avoid having recruitment events at the same time.

Are you planning on repeating this event?

– After the success of this pilot event, Evidensia have informed us that they would like us to do these info sessions again – maybe even in other countries. So, naturally, we’re open to collaborate with more colleagues and countries from the EURES network!

We are incredibly grateful for all the help we received from our EURES colleagues in Zaragoza, and are hoping to continue our cooperation.

“It was a pleasure working with Rob and Anders. They are great professionals with a lot of experience in this sector, which made everything easy” concluded Eva Octavio de Toledo Gutiérrez.