In Focus
Downturn hits youth hardest - Sweden takes undesirable lead
An economic downturn often hits young people fastest and hardest. The current crisis is no exception. The Nordic countries usually boast some of Europe's lowest unemployment figures. Now 27.3 percent of Swedish 15 to 24 year-olds are out of work.
Finland's new Aalto University: the entrepreneur factory
Finland's new Aalto University brings together young people who want to be entrepreneurs. Their backgrounds range from technology and economics to design. The exchange of ideas here can create a platform for a new company culture in Finland.
From outsider to employed
Morten Skov Nielsen got a job and lots of self-confidence - and he's growing with the task. ”It's much better than I'd thought”, says 24-year-old Morten Skov Nielsen.
Social entrepreneurs fighting for outsiders
At Stockholm's “Fryshuset” (the Cold Store) a 25-year-old social entrepreneurship is turning the destructive forces which often plague social outsiders to positive forces and insider status. New methods grow to meet new demands. The aim is to catch youth at risk of falling outside of society, to recognise their potential and believe in their power so that they could stay in school and later enter working life.
Employing the last unemployed
Out of a total of 25 million people in the five Nordic countries, there are now only 422,000 unemployed. April saw the Norwegian unemployment rate plummet to 1.6 per cent. Denmark is close with 1.9 per cent. The numbers for Iceland and Sweden are somewhat higher, with 2.3 and 3.2 per cent. Finland has 6.8 per cent.
Theme: The hunt for manpower is on
Will there be enough manpower when economies grow year on year while populations are ageing? No, say many employers in the Nordic countries. Their warning is that lack of manpower will jeopardise economic growth and innovation. Governments too are on the alert. Welfare states are dependent on enough workers to keep ticking over.
Fighting over the unemployed
Denmark is changing tack to attract manpower in the face of record low unemployment figures. The transport sector shows the way.
Finland: New government wants increased immigration
Finland has one of the lowest immigration rates in the EU, while its population is ageing quicker than anywhere else in the Union. That does not bode well for the country's future labour market. Now the new government wants to increase labour immigration. But the situation for those already in the country must be improved first.
Labour shortage on everyone's lips
Are we running out of manpower? After years of economic boom in the Nordic countries, an increasing number of businesses say they can no longer expand simply because there are not enough qualified people to employ. Meanwhile, a demographic problem is lurking; the large groups of people born in the 1940s are about to retire.
Chasing nurses and sailors - Norway's ethical dilemma of importing workers
The lack of skilled workers is a big problem in Norway, where unemployment has fallen to less than two percent. Healthcare and shipping might seem like very different sectors, yet both are trying to attract foreign workers.
Border-less learning
"Adult learning is a priority", said Norwegian deputy minister Åge Rosnes, when he opened the conference "Quality adult learning. A challenge for the Nordic welfare model?" It was one of many events which form part of "The Nordic Network for Adult Learning" (NVL). It begun in January 2005 as an initiative by the Nordic Council of Ministers. It's task is to develop adult learning.
Work place learning with a human face
Life-long learning is seen as the golden key to unlock the magic door to the future. Through continued competence development we shall overcome global competition and accelerating technological development, employers will find competent employees, and employees will be flexible enough to follow the windy road of development. In the long run, knowledge will secure growth and welfare.
Integrity - a new term in Norwegian labour law
The Nordic countries set up labour inspection authorities to protect workers against accidents, dangerous chemicals and excessive spells of work. But how do labour inspection work when the work place is in transformation? During times of change so many things happen simultaneously that the employees’ integrity is threatened.
Making production sustainable: The Danish experience
When Danes talked about 'sustainable' production in the past, they were most likely thinking of organic farming products. During the 1980s and l990s the expression was given a wider meaning. Today it is associated with production, economy and working life.
Sustainability - a strategy for the future
Can society be sustainable if working life isn't? By valuing working life in terms of sustainability, we add a new perspective of forward thinking and inclusiveness which concerns people. Sustainability puts work in a context which challenges traditional solutions and players, and it mobilises fresh thinking. This is one conclusion from a report written by professor Bjørg Aase Sørensen and Christin Thea Wathne at the Norwegian Work Research Institute.
Older workers: A mental change for Finland
The number of employed people over 55 years of age has increased more in Finland than in most other European countries in recent years. A full three quarters of the 300.000 jobs created between 1999 and 2001 were taken by older men and women.
Chaos within safe borders
You feel it as soon as you step inside Norwegian Snøhetta’s offices; something exciting is happening here. In what used to be a big harbour authority storage hall, overlooking the ravishing Oslo fjord through a huge glass window, 50 people are sat drawing the future.
Youths falling at the hurdles of working life
There’s increased division in the labour market, and young people are the ones who are loosing out. Earlier there were alternatives for those who didn’t succeed in school or took a greater interest in practical work. Today those youths risk being left behind. There has been a change in the structures of the labour market, but many young people blame themselves.
Finnish fast track through the employment office
During the 90s, Finland succeeded in rapidly reducing unemployment among young people. Now new tools are needed to move on. A system of fast-tracking them through the employment office has proved successful. The method is called society guarantee. The aim is for all unemployed between 17 and 25 to either get a place of study, start work training or to get a taste of working life in workshops.
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