Photo: Stockholm University/Ingmarie Andersson

At the alumni meeting, current AKPA students get to meet four former students from different work areas (HR, law and recruitment) who will talk about how they used the courses from AKPA in their education and what the time after the studies looked like. The meeting takes place on November 6, at 4-5.30 pm in Södra huset, room A5137.

Read more about the meeting (in Swedish)

Below, four alumni tell us about their career paths after AKPA.

Sandra Brkan attended AKPA in HT19 and VT20.

Where do you work now?

– Today I work as a recruiter at Eltel. Previously, I worked as an HR generalist with a focus on recruitment and employer branding. My work is absolutely related to the AKPA studies. It concerns competence provision and personnel management. AKPA has helped me achieve my career goals!

Were there courses that you found particularly useful?

– For my job role, the labor market economics course has been a central point. There was a small part that dealt with recruitment and that part touched on how costly it would be with a wrong recruitment linked to personnel finances. That's why I want to contribute to successful recruitments! In my personal life, I would say that I have benefited from the economics course, considering the current inflation, Riksbanken's policy interest rate and all that.

What is your advice for current AKPA students?

– Firstly: dare to ask questions! I was the inquisitive student who needed to ask the teachers for examples in order to understand a context – which I also believe the teachers appreciated. Secondly: studying is fun! Find fellow students you enjoy, and study together. Help each other! Buy a large bag of sweets and study together for the exam with memory games and quizzes. Put up colorful post-it notes at home and practice for the exam.

Tony Löflund attended AKPA 1 in 2017.

Where do you work now?

– I have been working as a lawyer at SBC (SverigesBostadsrättsCentrum AB) since augusti 2022, where I help condo associations in all kinds of law – mainly in the areas of real estate and construction law. AKPA may sound distant, but in fact, what I learned about labor law gave me the foundation of a basic understanding of law.

Were there courses that you found particularly useful?

– I believe all AKPA students get to learn what a NAIRU curve is. In any case, it is something that I will always remember. But what I have particular use for is, as already mentioned, the partial course in labor law. I dare say that you learn a lot more than labor law. I learned to browse correctly among sections, read judgments from the Labor Court, legal arguments, and to understand that the differences often are found in the details. All of this is still useful in my work today.

What is your advice for current AKPA students?

– Take the opportunity to learn as much as possible. As an AKPA student, you discover a lot of new and interesting things, not just from one area but from several current areas in society. If AKPA is your first taste of academic studies, like it was for me, I would say take it easy because everything will fall into place after a while. As long as you learn the NAIRU curve, it will go well in the end, you see!

Démie Guiron attended AKPA 1 and 2 in 2020.

Where do you work now?

– Today I am HR Business Partner at Circle K Sweden – all courses in AKPA 1 and 2 can be connected to my work.

Were there courses that you found particularly useful?

– My job includes working both operationally and strategically. In the operational work, labor law plays a central role as it involves assessing individual cases where the employee's employment is usually the main issue. The work environment is both an operational and a strategic point in my work – a lot of the managers' questions revolve around the work environment, and above all risk assessments and cooperation with the trade union counterpart.

All courses in labor market economics and salaries provide a good foundation and I have especially benefited from it in my advice on salary issues, and of course also personally, during these times we live in. One of the most underestimated courses in the AKPA program is organization and leadership. I use a lot of the models that are taught there when I analyze the employees' work environment and performance, and give my advice to the company.

What is your advice for current AKPA students?

– My advice for students who want a career in HR is: gain practical experience as early as possible. Within HR, practical knowledge is valued as highly as academic knowledge. Many companies offer students practice and part-time work in most parts of the HR area. My final advice is to build networks – make sure to go to events and fairs, keep your LinkedIn profile updated, and be active in your pursuit of more knowledge. There are endless companies and associations that offer free lectures and events digitally – be sure to regularly sign up and listen to them, because that's what will keep your knowledge relevant.

Erik Ekholm attended AKPA in HT20 and VT21.

Where do you work now?

– I currently work as a recruiter for Siemens AB and am writing my bachelor's thesis in sociology.

Were there courses that you found particularly useful?

– Work organization and work environment, Labor law, Theories for wage setting.

What is your advice for current AKPA students?

– What you learn gives you a broader understanding of the labor market and society, and society consists of all of us. If you want to work with people, it is good to often remind yourself that the rest of us are individuals with our own agency that you need to consider and handle carefully. It will make you a valued colleague and excellent manager for all types of HR tasks.