Young People’s Career Aspirations in a Region with Expanding Mega-investments in ‘Green’ Industry: A ‘Green Boom’ for Whom?

This article examines how young people’s career aspirations evolve over time in a region of northern Sweden undergoing rapid industrial transformation associated with the so-called green transition. The analysis draws on interviews with 13 individuals conducted over a 10-year period, comprising 80 biographical interviews in total. Participants were 15 years old at the time of the first interview and 25 years old at the time of the final interview. The study addresses two research questions: (a) What aspirations related to education, work and future place of residence did the participants articulate over time? (b) How did these orientations develop in relation to regional labour market transformations associated with the green industrial transition? The qualitative longitudinal data set was analysed using the case-profile method, with a focus on three theoretical facets of aspirations—dreams, hopes and plans. The findings show how participants’ career aspirations and place-related orientations developed over time and in relation to the regional context, moving from vague aspirations to more concrete plans and highlighting the processual nature of career-making. A key contribution of the study is the finding that participants related their career aspirations to the region’s structural transformations in limited and often implicit ways.