Can the Nordic labour markets survive the green transition?

A recent agreement between employers and employees in Iceland shows how cooperation for the green transition can work.

Andrés Magnússon and Sigmundur Halldorsson sit on opposite sides of the negotiating table. Together, they have made a plan to secure industries the right skills in the future, while also making sure people can keep their jobs.

There is a great need for new skills, especially within digital expertise and sustainability.

Over a period of six years, four in five employees will take further education or retrain. 

“If Iceland’s industry is to remain competitive in future, we have to do something. We did this because we don’t trust that the ordinary education system will manage. I worry that Icelandic education is not good enough,” said Andrés Magnússon, Secretary General of the Icelandic Federation of Trade and Services SVÞ.

Sigmundur Halldorsson, special advisor at the Icelandic VR trade union, shares this concern.

“We have not invested enough in education and further training in Iceland. When you finish school or university you are supposed to be trained for life. We lack an understanding of the importance of further training,” he said.