12 recommendations to get more people in vulnerable groups into working life

All the Nordic countries struggle to a certain extent to include youths, seniors, immigrants, people with disabilities and people with mental health issues.

The need to increase labour market participation among vulnerable groups in the Nordics has been high on the agenda for a long time and was therefore one of several initiatives on the Nordic Council of Ministers’ cross-sectoral action plan for 2021 – 2024.

VIVE and HBS Economics in Denmark have looked at the issues from different angles in a major research project funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. 

This is now culminating in the report “Increasing employment among vulnerable groups. Summary of insights and recommendations for the Nordic countries”.

The recommendations

The report was presented during a webinar on 25 February and contains 12 recommendations summed up in these policy tracks:

• A more flexible and individual system
• Create flexibe programmes for complex challenges
• Create results through good relations, confidence and motivation
• Getting companies on board

“The Nordic countries are already working hard to get more people into the labour market, and many things are going in the right direction. Yet we still see a potential for improvement. 

“We hope these recommendations can help get more of the vulnerable groups into education and work in the Nordic countries,” Andreas Højbjerre and Rasmus Lang Thomsen at HBS Economics tell the Nordic Labour Journal.

“One of the most important aspects of our recommendations is the emphasis on individual and flexible approaches. It is also crucial to have a long-term perspective – the results will not be immediate but will emerge over time,” says Andreas Højbjerre.

Freedom for caseworkers

They see a clear tendency where the Nordic countries choose solutions that are too general. The measures are often too standardised as if one solution would fit all.

“That’s why we recommend more freedom for caseworkers and a greater scope to tailor solutions to the individual. There is no definitive solution or one single measure that fits all. 

“Caseworkers must be given flexibility to develop individual solutions that are adapted to the individual’s needs. This is about giving them room to act, reduce rigid demands and open up for more flexible adaptations,” says Andreas Højbjerre.

People in vulnerable groups often face many and very different obstacles to getting into the labour market. So it is very challenging to create general solutions that work for everyone.

“It is crucial to give caseworkers the freedom to do what they feel is best for the citizen. The systems must be rigged to be able to answer the question: How do you give caseworkers more flexibility?"

Does this demand more resources?

“Not necessarily. A more flexible system doesn’t have to be more expensive but it places higher demands on those who create the measures. Caseworkers must get even better at seeing the individual and adapting the measures.”

Some countries might have to change legislation to create more space for flexibility, but in the long run, this will pay.

Having many people outside of the labour market is expensive for society. Getting them into work will save serious money over time, says Andreas Højbjerre.

Learning from each other

In addition to thoroughly reviewing the background for the recommendations, the report delves into three topics:

• Youth exclusion in the Nordic countries
• Inclusion of immigrant women
• The employment gap for people with disabilities 

The report provides examples of existing measures or measures that are about to be launched in the Nordic countries.

We include one example from Norway, that says something about what is being done precisely to make measures more flexible and individually adapted. 

Norwegian employment service (NAV) leaders in Trondheim have spent the past few years working with the project “A simpler NAV”.

It takes time to get up and running, but they are very confident of good results once they start being felt.

The project was initiated by NAV offices in Trondheim, the County Governor, Trondheim Municipality and NAV Trøndelag, in close cooperation with the Directorate of Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of Labour and Inclusion. They hope to get going in early 2026, but since the project depends on exemptions from existing legislation things take time.

In the first instance, a pilot is planned to run in Trondheim, where the municipality will be a pilot municipality. If this produces good results, the project might eventually be rolled out nationally. 

Head of division Unni Valla Skevik at NAV Falkenborg and head of division Sølvi Margrethe Dahlen at NAV Lerkendal are among those developing a new youth benefit for people under 30 who are not in education or work.

The new benefit will be linked to specific conditions and activity requirements.

The aim: Simpler to navigate the NAV system

The NAV leaders feel it is necessary to streamline NAV’s many benefits to make the system more transparent and user-friendly.

Head of division Sølvi Margrethe Dahlen (left) at NAV Lerkendal and head of division Unni Valla Skevik at NAV Falkenborg in Trondheim are putting in place a new youth benefit. 

The idea behind the youth benefit is to replace the “patchwork” of benefits that many young people have to relate to today – like work assessment allowance, social assistance, activity benefits, qualification support, and several others. 

“We believe it will be easier for caseworkers and young people when they no longer have to navigate between so many different benefit solutions,” say Skevik and Dahlen. 

Less medication, more focus on opportunities

The background for the initiative is a desire to think innovatively about how to prevent youth exclusion. In recent years, several reports have pointed out that the strong connection between diagnosis and the right to public income security in Norway can be problematic.

Research shows that many young people go through long assessment periods to get a diagnosis which grants them the right to financial support. 

“We want to move the focus away from illness and medication and use time on how to get young people back into education and work. Today we often begin by asking “Where are you ill?”. We should rather be asking “What is your potential and which opportunities do you have?”, says Skevik. 

By giving young people economic safety through one predictable benefit, the NAV leaders hope to shift the focus onto the youths’ dreams and future opportunities.

“When the caseworkers no longer have to spend time finding which benefits the young person is entitled to, they can spend their energy on follow-up and guidance,” says  Dahlen. 

Closer follow-up, fewer youths per caseworker

One important part of the project is to redistribute the resources from administering benefits to a closer follow-up of the youths. The aim is that each caseworker should work with fewer youths and be more present in their lives.

“We wish to reduce exclusion and increase the transit to education and work. When the young people have stable economic support, we believe it will become easier for them to focus on taking the necessary steps toward education or work,” the two leaders say. 

The hope is that the new youth benefit will mean less bureaucracy, quicker casework and a shorter wait before the youths receive their payments.

"The goal is for more young people to succeed through closer follow-up by the NAV advisor. When the fight to secure money in the account is no longer the main focus, it frees up both the young person and the NAV advisor.

“We want to spend time on follow-up and active participation – not on financial worries," conclude Skevik and Dahlen.

The employer’s crucial role

Back to the report, which underlines the importance of such close cooperation between the individual, the caseworker and the employer. Experience shows that measures including a real connection to a workplace often produce the best results.

The closer the link to a proper workplace, the better the effect. 

There are many ways of engaging employers, but none of the Nordic countries have found a lasting solution for how to do this in the best possible way, believe the report authors.

They also think it is important that the employer see this as more than social responsibility – it is also good for business. 

“We see employers who are willing to take social responsibility but we believe they can get even better at identifying which tasks that could easily be solved by this group. This could benefit the citizen, the working environment and the bottom line,” say Andreas Højbjerre and Rasmus Lang Thomsen ati HBS Economics.

Big potential

The report’s recommendations clearly show that much can still be done to create the best possible labour market, believes Petar Cavala, Director of the Department for Knowledge and Welfare at the Nordic Council of Ministers.

“Over the years, we have read previous reports with great interest, and it is very good that we now have a final report with clear recommendations,” Cavala tells the Nordic Labour Journal. 

He hopes the Nordic countries will use the results and recommendations when shaping the labour market policy of today and the future.

“In order to have enough labour in the Nordics and handle the green and digital transitions, we have to include everyone. There is great potential among people in vulnerable groups which we must get better at promoting and using,” says Cavala.