In Focus
Language skills - the key that doesn't always fit
Few statements enjoy such broad political agreement in the Nordic countries as this: language skills are key to both integration and working life. All five countries offer immigrants several hundreds of hours of free language courses, but they have chosen different models and put different demands on students.
Language training boosts self-confidence for Norway's Coke staff
Coca-Cola Enterprises Norway started a successful language training programme in the workplace after a visit to another food and drinks company - the dairy group Tine.
Norwegian food industries offer in-house language courses
Knowing a country's language is important to get a job. But language is also getting more and more important in order to hold on to that job as new technology is introduced, employers demand written documentation and linguistic skills become an increasingly important part of the daily tasks at work.
Free workplace language training in Denmark
All foreigners with permanent residency in Denmark are entitled to Danish language lessons. Many language courses are held in the workplace, and businesses see the benefits of in-house language training.
English - Denmark's future professional language
To get a job in Denmark you must learn Danish, but in the long term both private and public employers must accept English as the professional language, says Foreningen Nydansker (the association for the integration of immigrants into the Danish labour market), which represents 130 small and larger Danish businesses.
Job-related Swedish language training boosts employment
Several larger municipalities in Sweden are making Swedish lessons for immigrants more targeted to the labour market. Language lessons are mixed with practical learning. Örebro municipality west of Stockholm represents one example where vocational education is mixed with language lessons.
Finland demands strong language skills
Finnish can be a difficult language to learn. Many immigrants have found out the hard way. To get a job you need very good spoken and written Finnish. It is crucial to invest in language skills in order to fully take part in Finnish society.
Staffing agencies challenging the Nordic model
From time to time 'The Great Debate" over the role of staffing agencies rolls out in the Nordic countries, despite the fact they provide a only a small percentage of the workforce.
Black market cleaning a major problem for Norway's cleaning industry
Are staffing agencies just one step on the road towards an even more flexible labour marked, where those performing services become their own employers? NHO Service, the employers' organisation for Norway's cleaning industry, is sounding the alarm over an increase in cleaning businesses from 2,000 to 6,500 over just a few years.
EU directive on temporary agency work could reduce social dumping
Trade unions believe the EU directive on temporary agency work will see fewer staffing agencies pushing down salaries and working conditions.
Unique collective agreement for Sweden's staffing agencies
Staffing agencies in Sweden are experiencing a boom. In the last quarter of 2010 turnovers were up 42 percent on 2009 figures. Staffing agencies do however provoke conflicting feelings and staffing was one of the key themes during the latest collective bargaining process.
The Nordic region: approaching equality step by step
Nordic women have been an inspiration for the fight for gender equality in other countries. Between them they have filled all but two of the positions of political power: no Nordic country has as yet had a female arch bishop or a female commander-in-chief. Meanwhile both the President and Prime Minister in Finland are women.
Denmark still waits for a female prime minister
Few countries have been so mentally prepared for a female prime minister as Denmark. The political TV drama Borgen has been a great success, also in neighbouring countries. It portrays a female prime minister and the power struggle at Christiansborg, the Copenhagen palace which houses parliament, the Prime Minister's office and the supreme court.
Iceland: the crisis brought a female breakthrough
The financial crisis hit Iceland harder than any other Nordic country, and it also led to a political earthquake. Wide-spread corruption and nepotism made voters look for new politicians. This has benefited women.
Finnish women have conquered the most important positions of power
Finnish women top the Nordic Labour Journal power barometer with 15 out of a possible 40 points. Not least because both their president and prime minster are women.
Norwegian women have lost the most power
Norway has been the hottest country in the gender equality debate since quotas were made law there in 2008. Publicly listed firms, often major listed companies, must have at least 40 percent of each sex in their boardrooms. Yet at the same time women have lost more positions of power in Norway than in any other Nordic country.
Who'll replace Sweden's powerful women?
Sweden is the only Nordic country which has never had a female prime minister or a female head of state in modern times. The Social Democrat Party leader Mona Sahlin could have become prime minister in the September 2010 elections, but her new red-green coalition lost.
New tack sought in Danish equality debate
Norway uses quotas and a men's panel to improve gender equality, but in Denmark there is disagreement on how to do it. Yet the Danes do agree there's a need for a gender equality debate which focuses on both sexes.
"Part-time is a result of lacking equality”
The high number of involuntary part-timers is a result of how we value women's work, says Annelie Nordström, chairwoman at Kommunal, the Swedish Municipal Workers’ Union. The union has been fighting for the right to full-time employment for 30 years. It's been an uphill battle, and since the economic crisis hit in 2009 it's been even harder.
Work without boundaries can severely increase number of burnouts
The borderline between work and leisure time is becoming fuzzy. It's getting increasingly difficult to achieve the old dream of eight hours' work, eight hours' off and eight hours' sleep when the smartphone wants your attention, colleagues work in other timezones and you need to work a night shift to get through your inbox.
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