My Gårdman, 21, from Södertälje, is one of the first employees at the newly established and growing Saab MRO Arctic Boden. She is one of a growing number of young people from other parts of the country and the world who are choosing to move to the new jobs on offer in various sectors in Boden.
“My title is systems engineer, but right now during the construction phase I’m doing a bit of everything here”, says My Gårdman.
She has been what she calls “Boden-My” for a month now. With an industrial engineering background as a machine operator in metal production, she was attracted to Boden to work at Saab MRO Arctic Boden.
Saab’s service facility was inaugurated in January 2024 with generous premises on the old AF 1 site. It is currently a development area under the name Boden Plug & Play. The aim of Saab’s establishment in Boden is, among other things, to be able to work with remedial maintenance on ground equipment such as air defense systems, artillery, vehicles and vehicle parts close to the Armed Forces’ units in the north.
My Gårdman is the first permanent employee, apart from the site manager, of the 10-15 highly qualified technicians expected to join Saab MRO Arctic Boden by the end of the year.
New jobs create new opportunities
“I saw the ad of the job and felt like doing something new. I jumped at the chance and didn’t think much about the fact that it was in Boden. But then when I was offered the job, I started to look a little more into what’s available here and thought I’d give it a try”, says My.
For the first time in her life, she moved away from the place where she grew up, leaving family and friends in awe.
“I guess the reaction from most people was “BODEN?!?”. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I think it has gone very well.
Stress-free welcoming place
She describes Boden as a stress-free and welcoming place to move to. She quickly found an apartment, which is not as easy in Stockholm and the surrounding area she left. The myth of distance and silent northerners was also quickly broken.
“I rent an apartment in central Boden and it is very close to everything! I can even walk to work if I want to. I got a big apartment with two rooms and I am very happy. And here people talk to you, just like that when you meet outside. In fact, I can’t think of anything that I miss, except my horse”.
One of the first things she checked was that there are riding stables and horses in Boden.
“I have always been involved with horses and have my own horse that I left at the farm of my parents and my sister. But I have no intention of bringing the horse up here. Not yet, anyway.
I’ve been thinking that I should take the opportunity to try some new sport in my spare time now. Next winter I’m going cross-country skiing. I have been on the page Move to Boden and got good tips and help with a little bit of everything and my colleagues are very nice and tell and show.
Photo: KOMM, Municipality of Boden
