‘I don’t just watch climate change happening’: the young Swedes being paid to make a difference

Participant-led YPS scheme creates green projects while providing summer jobs in country with high youth unemployment Oona Verveld and Clara Vikberg have just secured their first paid summer jobs. While their peers are mostly limited to entry-level positions in retail or fast-food restaurants, the 18-year-olds are some of the first among their generation to have landed a new type of role: young planetary stewards. “Someone came up with the simple idea that, since young people clearly need jobs, why not create them?” says My Sellberg, the project manager and programme lead for regenerative development at Upplandsbygd, a non-profit based north of Stockholm. “The strongest objective was to inspire hope for the future among our young residents.” Sweden has one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the EU. About 24% of 15– to 24-year-old Swedes are classified as unemployed, compared with an EU average of about 15%. While Sweden’s figures are partly influenced by the way students seeking work are counted in the statistics, the labour market remains challenging for young people trying to gain their first professional experience. In the UK, youth unemployment has also rise