Upgraded has signed an exclusive framework agreement with Höganäs Municipality for consultancy services at an estimated value of SEK 25 million.

We are very pleased to begin the collaboration with Höganäs Municipality – a partnership that marks a strategic step forward in our continued investment in southern Sweden, says Alexander Malmström, Team Lead, Public Sector in Region South.

Within the framework of the agreement, Upgraded will bring together competent consultants with Höganäs Municipality’s need for expertise at any given time.

We have a fantastic, diverse team of consulting brokers in southern Sweden who will support the customer in strengthening their skills within the municipality’s various administrations, continues Sinem Yedic, Teamlead in the South region.

The framework agreement will enter into force in May 2025 and Upgraded is the only supplier to have been awarded.

For further information, please contact:

Alexander Malmström, alexander.malmström@upgraded.se 

Sinem Yedic, sinem.y@upgraded.se 

Upgraded People AB are experts in the placement of consultants with a specialization in the IT area. Upgraded was started in 2010 and is currently established in 5 locations and has over 1000 consultants engaged in assignments across the Nordic market. The turnover for 2024 amounted to just over 1.7 billion SEK.

The technology shift is here – but is your organization ready?
As the pace of digital initiatives increases, cloud services are rolled out and new systems are put in place, visions are not enough. You need the right expertise – here and now. With interim solutions from Upgraded, you get access to experienced specialists and leaders who can immediately drive change, secure deliveries and navigate complex technical environments. Whether it’s IT strategy, system implementation or digital business models, we ensure that your transformation is sustainable, fast and effective.nabb och effektiv.

We see companies every day in the midst of a transformation with ambitious goals, but lacking the right resources to take the next step. To address this skills challenge, many of our clients choose to bring in interim consultants – experienced leaders and specialists who can immediately create results in uncertain or expansive phases.

Interim is not an “expensive solution”. It is a strategic decision that minimizes risk, speeds up implementation and secures business-critical knowledge. For every day a key role remains vacant, costs increase in the form of delays, wrong recruitments and lost revenue.

When is an interim solution particularly suitable? Here are some examples where we often step in and make a difference:

1. Green technology requires experienced hands

Electrification, hydrogen technology, and fossil-free steel not only require the right technology – they require the right people. When industry is transitioning to carbon neutrality, especially in northern Sweden, it is often difficult to find available expertise locally. With an interim solution, you get access to technical specialists and project managers who can quickly drive the work – on site or remotely – until a permanent team is in place.

2. Scale up – or scale back

Whether it’s increasing the capacity of a pilot plant, establishing new production, or decommissioning an old technical platform, temporary cutting-edge expertise is often needed. Our interim managers and technical consultants fill the gaps – from operational reliability to implementing new technology – so you don’t lose momentum at a critical stage.

3. System shifts and digital transformation

When companies change business systems, implement new platforms or migrate to cloud solutions, more than just technical knowledge is required – it requires the ability to change. IT-related changes often affect the entire organization and involve both technology, processes and people. Here, it is common for there to be a lack of internal resources to drive the transformation through at the required pace.

Upgraded brings experienced interim consultants in IT management, digital transformation and system implementation who can quickly step in as project managers, IT architects, change managers or product owners. They are used to handling complex integration projects, GDPR requirements, security issues and agile development – ​​without losing business focus.

Whether it’s implementing a new ERP system, moving critical parts to the cloud, or automating manual workflows, an interim solution can reduce the risk of errors, secure momentum, and free up time for internal resources. This makes your digital initiative faster, safer, and more efficient.

4. Temporary interruptions in leadership

Sick leave, layoffs or a manager leaving in the middle of a project – it happens. But production must not stop. By quickly appointing an interim solution, we ensure that the business maintains its stability, while you find the right person for the long-term role.

5. Innovation pressure and work peaks

In companies where innovation is part of everyday life, workloads often fluctuate. At peaks, an interim consultant can contribute new energy, pace and perspective – while giving the team some breathing room. It’s an effort that strengthens both results and the work environment.

6. Brings cutting-edge expertise to the management team

In times of rapid change, the management team also needs to be strengthened – not just with operational capabilities, but with strategic leadership. Interim consultants with experience from other industries, markets and transformations can bring new perspectives, ideas and ways of working. This can involve driving innovation, identifying new business opportunities or creating more data-driven decision support. By temporarily reinforcing the management level with expert knowledge, you can increase the pace of development – ​​without losing control.

The future is flexible – and so is your organization.

With Upgraded, you get access to a network of experienced interim managers and technical consultants who are ready to make a difference from day one. Whether it’s fossil-free production, logistics changes or production start-up – we match your challenge with the right expertise.

Ready to scale up sustainability? We’ll help you move forward.

Physical activity is a well-known key to increased well-being. We reduce the risk of getting sick, suffering from dementia and dying prematurely, but physical activity also reduces anxiety and stress, contributes to improved learning, concentration and sleep. If we move more, we simply feel better.

Castellum’s report The Work of the Future has shown that the office is important for employee well-being and that workplaces that encourage physical activity have happier employees. But how can companies do this in a simple way in everyday life? Here are 5 tips for a well-being workplace.

Preventive health work

A good start is to conduct a current situation analysis to get a complete picture of both the company’s work environment and the employees’ health and lifestyle. Let this information be the starting point for finding out which wellness and well-being initiatives should be prioritized.

Give managers the right conditions to feel good themselves

Managers need tools to take care of themselves before they can support their employees. A manager who feels good creates better conditions for a health-promoting culture.

Promote social support and community in the workplace

Create activities that build community, preferably ones that promote physical activity. If employees are spread across the country, digital health challenges may be the solution.

Integrate movement into the workday

To get more movement into the workday, we need to focus on existing routines. Let walk and talk meetings, movement breaks during longer meetings, and the opportunity to work outdoors become the norm in your workplace.

Long-term health initiatives

Create activities where everyone can participate regardless of physical fitness and make participation easy. Stick to health initiatives over time and make these a recurring item on the agenda.

As AI continues to reshape how we recruit and staff in 2025, those who adapt by learning new skills, honing their expertise, and keeping an open mind to new opportunities will succeed the most, whether you’re working as a consultant or applying for a line position.

According to the survey conducted by LinkedIn, “Jobs on the Rise 2025”, regarding the 15 hottest professional roles, IT-related services occupy 7 of the top 15 places on the list, which is quite naturally linked to the rapid digitalization and automation of companies. Other trends that can be read from the list are:

• Many of the roles offer hybrid work – an attractive feature for both employers and employees in a post-pandemic world.

• In times of economic uncertainty, companies seek expertise to ensure stability, risk minimization and optimization of resources.
• That support for leadership, change management and cross-functional coordination becomes more important as organizations become more complex and need support roles that make everything work effectively – both technically and organizationally.
• There is a clear skills gap and need for updating, which is made clear in that roles with shorter experience levels (e.g. AI Engineer, Cybersecurity Engineer and Automation Technician) are sought to fill acute skills gaps.

Top 15 fastest growing professional roles in Sweden

1. Treasury Manager (CFO)

• Role: Manages the company’s liquidity, financial risks and capital structure.
• Skills: Treasury management, cash flow management.
• Experience: 8,3 year | Gender: 32% women | Distance: 50% hybrid

2. Platform Engineer

• Role: Bygger tekniska plattformar för utvecklingsteam.
• Skills: Terraform, Kubernetes, DevOps.
• Experience: 6,1 year | Gender: 15% women | Distance: 67% hybrid

3. Data center technician

• Role: Troubleshoots, configures, and upgrades data center infrastructure.
• Skills: Data center operations, cable management.
• Experience: 3.3 years | Gender: 13% female | Remote: 7% hybrid

4. Planning engineer

• Role: Creates detailed project plans in construction and engineering.
• Skills: Oracle Primavera, project planning.
• Experience: 4.3 years | Gender: 30% female | Distance: 45% hybrid

5. AI engineer

• Role: Design and train AI systems and algorithms.
• Skills: AI, deep learning, LLM.
• Experience: 3.7 years | Gender: 18% female | Distance: 42% hybrid

6. Information Security Officer

• Role: Oversees information security and risk management.
• Skills: Cybersecurity, security governance.
• Experience: Not specified | Gender: 37% female | Distance: 53% hybrid

7. Property consultant

• Role: Commercial Real Estate Investment Advisory.
• Skills: Real Estate Development, Management.
• Experience: 4.7 years | Gender: 38% female | Distance: 100% hybrid

8. Head of IT Services

• Role: Lead IT Service Delivery and Business IT Integration.
• Skills: ITIL, IT Management.
• Experience: 8.8 years | Gender: 35% female | Distance: 71% hybrid

9. Chief of Staff

• Role: Supports management and drives organizational initiatives.
• Skills: Change management, public sector.
• Experience: 6.1 years | Gender: 58% female | Distance: 70% hybrid

10. Automation techniques

• Role: Maintains and troubleshoots automated systems and robotics.
• Skills: PLC programming, automation.
• Experience: 3.6 years | Gender: 8% female | Distance: Not specified

11. Contract manager

• Role: Responsible for contract negotiation and administration.
• Skills: Contract management, change management.
• Experience: 6.9 years | Gender: 45% female | Distance: 20% hybrid

12. Strategic Purchasing Manager

• Role: Lead Purchasing Strategy and Supplier Management.
• Skills: Global Sourcing, Procurement.
• Experience: 7.8 years | Gender: 37% female | Distance: 43% hybrid

13. Wealth manager

• Role: Investment, inheritance and tax advice.
• Skills: Private banking, advisory.
• Experience: 7.2 years | Gender: 27% women | Distance: Not specified

14. Executive Assistant

• Role: Administrative support for business leaders.
• Skills: Executive assistance, travel planning.
• Experience: 7,3 year | Gender: 92% women | Distance: 21% hybrid

15. Cyber ​​Security Engineer

• Role: Protects digital infrastructure from cyber threats.
• Skills: Vulnerability management, network security.
• Experience: 4,4 year | Gender: 23% women | Distance: 21% hybrid

Source: LinkedIn Jobs on the Rise

Upgraded People continues its growth journey and reports a strong first quarter of 2025 with sales of SEK 470 million – an increase of 15 percent compared to the corresponding period in 2024.

Growth is driven by increased demand for the company’s services in skills provision and strategic staffing, combined with a strengthened position in several of the markets in which the company operates.

Upgraded People is one of Northern Europe’s fastest growing companies in skills supply and strategic staffing, such as resource needs in the service sector, with a majority in industry segments such as Banking and Insurance, Defense, Infrastructure, Energy and Manufacturing. We create value by matching the right skills with the right context – always with people at the center. Through strong business focus, innovative solutions and close partnerships, we help organizations grow sustainably in a rapidly changing world.

• We continue to be driven by our belief that success is achieved by building long-term, value-creating partnerships. By combining action with innovative and groundbreaking ideas, we create solutions that make a real difference – for individuals, organizations and society as a whole.

Our work is not just about providing consultants, but about laying the foundation for growth, innovation and IT solutions where sustainable digital development is promoted. We are also noticing continued growth in organizational and management services, which indicates that many companies, after years of tight budgets and cost savings, now see a growing need to develop their organizations in order to meet competition in an increasingly competitive market. We see a continued positive trend for 2025 where we are gaining market share and gaining increasing trust from the market. This is a testament to our strong offering and our team’s ability to deliver value to both customers and candidates. During the past quarter, we have also continued to refine processes and broaden our offering, which creates good conditions for continued growth during the year. We currently do not see any negative impact on our business from the geopolitical unrest and the tariff threats from the US; on the contrary, we are noticing increased interest from Germany, Norway and Denmark. Our goal of generating sales of over 2 billion for the full year 2025 remains unchanged, says Birgitta Hedegård, CEO of Upgraded People.

About Upgraded

Upgraded offers the market tailor-made solutions to meet its clients’ unique needs and wishes in skills supply and strategic staffing. Upgraded’s clients are found in both the public and private sectors with resource deliveries in Sweden, Germany, Norway and Denmark with over 1100 consultants on assignment. We provide the right resource at the right time to enable our clients’ goals and visions for the benefit of the individual, organizations and society.

For more information:

VD, Birgitta Hedegård

birgitta.hedegard@upgraded.se

Despite the recession, layoffs and reduced investments, Sweden’s tech sector is showing signs of both resilience and renewal. While some sub-industries are shrinking, demand for cutting-edge expertise is increasing – and the number of new tech companies is growing rapidly.

The economic situation remains challenging for the technology sector in Sweden. The combination of a prolonged recession and a tense geopolitical climate continues to slow growth. However, the impact varies depending on the segment.

In 2024, turnover, adjusted for inflation, increased by 7 percent in the software and services area. Telecom and infrastructure also showed growth, with an increase of 7.2 percent. At the same time, things were worse for retail and service, where revenues fell by a full 6.3 percent. In hardware manufacturing, a smaller decline of 0.7 percent was noted.

Fewer employees – but more job ads

Employment in the tech sector decreased by an average of 6,250 people during January and February 2025, compared to the same period the previous year. This corresponds to a decline of approximately 2 percent, according to the industry indicator Tech Temperature.

The number of layoffs has also increased significantly. Between March 2024 and February 2025, nearly 5,900 people in the tech industry were given notice of layoffs – a 31 percent increase compared to the previous year. The telecom sector accounted for almost half of these layoffs, despite only accounting for just over a fifth of the industry’s total revenue.

Paradoxically, the number of job openings increased in the fourth quarter of 2024, after falling for four straight quarters. In December, there were 11,600 vacancies in tech. The increase in job postings, while employment is declining, points to a shift in skills. Companies are increasingly looking for specialists in areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud services and cybersecurity – while other functions, such as customer support, are being streamlined.

Risk appetite among investors is cooling

The difficult economic climate has also affected investment willingness. By January 2025, corporate lending had declined for twelve consecutive months, with a decline of 0.5 percent at an annual rate.

At the same time, venture capital investments continued to decline. According to preliminary figures from Dealroom, investments in Swedish tech startups landed at 2.4 billion euros in 2024 – a decrease of 48 percent from the previous year.

Technology stocks have also had a shaky start to 2025. Trade conflicts and political tensions, especially between Europe and the US, have increased anxiety on global stock markets. Swedish tech companies have so far fared better than their American counterparts, but investors’ risk appetite has become noticeably lower even here at home.

Strong new entrepreneurship despite the challenges

One bright spot in the otherwise gloomy situation is that new entrepreneurship in the tech sector has picked up. In 2024, 6,072 new tech companies were started in Sweden – an increase of 11 percent compared to the previous year. This is stronger growth than the average for all industries, where the increase was 9 percent.

The fact that so many new companies are being started despite economic uncertainty indicates that faith in the future in the tech sector is still alive – and that many entrepreneurs see new opportunities, not least as the demand for high-tech solutions increases.

Source: National Institute of Economic Research.