Maintenance mechanics are the quiet shortage of Swedish process industry — paper, sawmills, steel, mining, food — and one of the few industrial occupations on the Government's exemption list. Filipino mechanics with plant experience from the Gulf and Asia fit the code; this guide covers the profile, the test and the route.
Mechanics who keep a line running: bearing and seal replacement, shaft alignment, gearboxes and couplings, conveyors, pumps and fans, hydraulics and pneumatics, preventive-maintenance routines and basic condition monitoring. The Philippines produces them through two- and three-year mechanical technology diplomas and sends them to cement plants, refineries, food factories and mines across the Gulf and Asia; the ones Swedish plants want have ten years on rotating equipment and can read a maintenance plan.
Practical assessment at Prime Search's Makati workshop: a bearing change with correct fitting method, laser or dial alignment of a motor and pump set, fault-finding on a hydraulic circuit, reading an exploded drawing and a PM schedule, torque and measurement discipline. You watch live and interview the same day; candidates are briefed on the plant, the shift pattern, the climate and the net pay before they sign.
Since 1 June 2026 a work permit requires pay of at least 90 % of the Swedish median salary — SEK 34,470 a month for applications received from 16 June 2026, when the median became SEK 38,300 — and never below the collective-agreement rate for the role. Occupations on the Government's exemption list need 75 %, SEK 28,725. The requirement is tested at application and again at every extension against the figures and the list in force on that day; an occupation that leaves the list reverts to 90 % at the next extension. Extensions of permits granted before 1 June 2026 keep the old 80 % test until 1 December 2026.
Because 7233 is listed, the floor is SEK 28,725 — in process industry usually below the collective-agreement rate for an experienced mechanic, so the agreement, not the rule, sets the pay. The listing is checked again at each extension; if 7233 ever leaves the list, 90 % applies from the next extension, and we plan for that.
Advertisement for ten days, employment offer, union opinion from IF Metall or the sector union, insurance from day one, application in the e-service; most plants fall in category C and complete applications are prioritised. Three to five months from brief to arrival; MWO London accreditation and the DMW job order run in parallel from the first week.
Recruitment runs through our own DMW-licensed agency, Prime Search Manpower Agency Inc. in Makati (licence DMW-027-LB-11182024): your company is accredited at the Migrant Workers Office in London, which has jurisdiction for the Nordic countries, the job order is registered with the DMW, and every worker leaves Manila with a verified contract, medical clearance, pre-departure orientation and an Overseas Employment Certificate. Recruitment follows the employer-pays principle: no applicant pays for an interview, a trade test or a place on a shortlist. Your company is the employer from day one; we never employ or lease the workers.
Everything here is subject to the Aliens Act and Aliens Ordinance as amended, the Swedish Migration Agency's salary requirement and exemption list in force, the collective agreement for the sector and Philippine DMW rules.
Maintenance mechanics and machine repairers in industrial plants — mechanical maintenance of production equipment. Electricians, automation technicians and CNC operators have other codes and other salary lines.
Only within Swedish rules on electrical work; we present mechanics for mechanical maintenance and separate electricians where you need them.
Yes — candidates are told exactly where the plant is and what winter means, and housing is arranged before departure; retention in northern plants has been good where the briefing was honest.
Not for the permit; plant inductions in English are common and Swedish is learned on the job. We arrange preparation in Manila on request.
General information for employers, not legal or migration advice. Rules change; we re-verify before each hire.