In focus 2010
Theme: Seeing the human in the work place
Employers are increasingly looking for people's ability to adapt rather than their grades. To be able to see the individual and the skills found within all ethnic groups is a challenge to both public and private job providers. Not least at the beginning of a career is it important not to end up on the wrong track.
Theme: Opening the Northern borders
People in the Nordic region are used to visa-free travel and a common labour market, while the relationship with Russia has been characterised by closed opportunities. But these are new times. People in the Northern border region want freedom to travel and work in each other's countries. A visa-free zone could be the beginning of the tearing down of those barriers.
Theme: Extending a helping hand to the jobless
Youth need to get back into jobs or education, or else we risk loosing a generation. It is therefore imperative to create job rich growth. We need to act now, and we need to help the weakest ones in the labour market first. That was the message when ILO and IMF and then the OECD, staged conferences in Oslo recently. Denmark is one of the countries which now tailor help and mentorships in the workplace to those who need it the most.
Theme: Can the Nordic region stay top of the trust league?
Nordic countries are at the top when it comes to trust between people. Co-operation between the social partners is a cornerstone for the Nordic Model. But what happens if the trust is challenged?
Theme: Nordic meeting of Labour minister with focus on youth
The finance crisis has hit all the Nordic countries. Unemployment has risen sharply year on year. Sweden, Finland and Iceland are hardest hit. Denmark has seen a sharp increase in unemployment over the past six months, albeit from an historically low level.
Theme: Nordic region tightens sick leave rules
One of the pillars of Nordic welfare systems is the right to sickness pay. But should employees enjoy the same pay whether or not they are at work? Who decides how long a person can be off sick? What kind of contact should the worker maintain with the employer? These questions are fuelling a heated debate in several Nordic countries. We take a closer look at new measures and rules being tightened.
Theme: Europe's youths desperately seeking jobs
Youth unemployment is exploding. The consequences of being left behind can be enormous for the individual youth and for society as a whole. Nordic Labour Journal has met young people who receive help from the state, who depend on the help of their family and we look at the costs of allowing young people to remain on the outside of the system for shorter or longer periods of time.
Theme: The hunt for highly skilled labour
How do you remain competitive when everybody wants to attract the highest qualified labour? Nordic Labour Journal has travelled around the world to hear both authorities and migrants state their case. We have taken a close look at Workindenmark in Denmark and in India. We have spoken to Sweden's Counsellor of Labour Market Affairs in Beijing and we've met Indian IT engineers in Helsinki selling their services to Nokia. It looks like a good work environment and good social systems constitute the best bait.
Theme: Winds of change for integration policies
Europe's migration policies are changing. Asylum legislation is being tightened while borders open up for workers in demand. This tendency was highlighted at the recent EU meeting in Malmö on integration of new arrivals. Global competition and current demographics mean Europe needs manpower. The fight for labour will get tougher before the crisis ends.
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