Civil Engineer and Architect Victoria Bergfors, Lycksele:
"Here are good career opportunities."
Victoria Bergfors, architect and office manager at AFRY, now stands in the pits to start her own in the industry. Career opportunities are good and she only sees opportunities to run the company from the home town of Lycksele, known as the City of Lapland.
"The pandemic has made it possible to work anywhere with the whole country as a field of work," says 34-year-old Victoria Bergfors, who lives with her husband in the scenic village of Tannsele, a stone’s throw from downtown Lycksele.
At AFRY – a consulting firm in the field of community building, design and infrastructure – she has been employed since becoming a newly graduated civil engineer in architecture. She has had different roles, mainly as an architect but also as a project manager. She now stands in the starting pits to start her own and only sees opportunities to drive the company from a small inland location.
It will be fun. Lycksele has a good corporate culture with several supportive networks such as the Swedish Enterprise Office and the Entrepreneurs, Victoria says.
Back to happiness
After growing up and high school in Lycksele ruled Victoria Kosan to Luleå where she trained as a civil engineer in architecture. A turn in Skellefteå was also included before she decided to return to her home town to try her luck as an adult. The tranquillity, proximity and the fairly large town attracted and she quickly gained employment at TM Konsult (currently AFRY) where she had previously done internships and summer jobs.
The work at AFRY (consultants in community building, design and infrastructure) has involved a combination of different tasks, primarily as an architect in combination with project management.
"The best thing about my job is the variety and social connections," Victoria said.
Sweden as a work field
During the journey, Victoria has experienced how opportunities to work remotely have only increased. First, the locally anchored TM consultant became part of the nationwide AFRY. Then the pandemic opened up for team meetings that expanded geographical boundaries.
"When I take the next step and start my own, I am not bound to the local market but will continue to work with customers all over Sweden. But the Norwegian construction market has taken off, so there are benefits to being here on site as well.
Good career opportunities
"The career opportunities in the industry up here, I would say, are good. In Lycksele, we have several consulting firms besides AFRY that are certainly interested in employment now that the market turns and it is built a lot in the north, says Victoria, explaining that it has not always been easy to hire when the move has been low compared to the need for competence, and that it is often the returneee, as she moves in.
"We need to be better at marketing the inland municipalities and why we should move here. Many larger companies are located in several locations along the coast and sometimes you can get the opportunity to "satellite office", so you don't have to move from the hinterland or can work along the coast even if you move here.
Another way is to start your own, like Victoria.
"I think there is a market for big giants like AFRY and small one-man companies.
Safe, close and fair
Initially, Victoria will manage Bergfors Project Agency AB from home in Tannsele. The benefits of living here are many, not least the geographical location that Lycksele has in between the coast and the mountains.
"We are partly close to the cabin in the mountains where we are happy to go scooters and pick edges, and we are close to Umeå with shopping and entertainment if we are keen on it. "The network of friends and family means a lot to me," Victoria said.
She emphasizes that if you want to live in your own house outside the city, there is hardly any better place, with low house prices, nature and scooter trails outside the house knot and just a quarter drive to the service range in downtown Lycksele.
I also have no longing to travel abroad and backpack like many others, but I enjoy the safety, proximity and freedom here. It beats most of it.
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Text: Monica Wiksten Gideonsson
Photo: www.ricke.se
