In Focus
Google wants to enter the Nordic labour market
Optimism clearly trumped pessimism at the Nordic conference on the Future of Work in Stockholm in the middle of May. Companies, politicians and trade unions mainly praised the digital future.
The Disruption Council explores the future
Long before the Danish Disruption Council ends its work, it has already identified a range of ways to secure that digitalisation, robots and artificial intelligence (AI) increase wealth and improve welfare, even though many traditional jobs will disappear.
Can continuously learning save Finland’s future competences needs?
In Finland, experts are looking at education policies and more for solutions to the future labour market’s challenges. A government-appointed panel has presented its first report, ‘Ett ständigt lärande Finland’ (Finland – a country of continuous learning) – which has been subject to criticism from trade unions for being light on concrete measures.
No fish is wasted with Icelandic technology
Iceland’s fisheries industry has undergone a revolution in recent years. Fishing companies and tech firms have worked together to develop high tech solutions. Iceland is a global leader when it comes to developing fish processing technology. Productivity has shot up, and new computerised machinery is being exported.
Jon Erik Dølvik: Technology easily blinds us, yet we can shape our own future of work
He does not use the analogy himself, but when Jon Erik Dølvik talks about the future of work it sounds as if he is talking about the Gulf Stream. When researching whether the Nordic model can manage challenges like automation, globalisation and the platform economy, he is mostly interested in how the flow of capital affects employment.
Digitalisation now also concerns people with higher education
Camilla Tepfers’ choice of words is surprising as she describes the skills needed when machines have learnt what we thought only humans could to: Those who can tolerate boredom are the winners, she might say. Or those who consider things in more depth.
The difference between a therapy dog and a Japanese robot seal
Robots help elderly care workers. Surveys show robots cannot replace employees, but they can help in their work and improve older people’s everyday life.
Newly arrived immigrant women – more than a labour market project?
682,948 non-western immigrants arrived in the Nordic region between 2010 and 2015. The aim is to integrate as many of them as possible into the labour market. The challenge is greatest for female refugees, who often face discrimination in their native countries and again risk being discriminated against in their new home country.
OECD: More flexibility needed to get female refugees into work
There is a need for more flexible measures to integrate newly arrived refugee women in the Nordic region, according to the OECD. Research shows that after years of fleeing, birth rates increase dramatically. When women feel safe, they have children – but that also makes it difficult for them to benefit from labour market introduction programmes.
Nordic focus on getting more newly arrived women into work
To succeed in getting more newly arrived women into work, the Nordic countries need more employment measures, an increased focus on childcare and documented results from measures, according to a new study.
Project Mirjam tackles prejudices about and in the Swedish labour market
Project Mirjam targets women with low levels of education who have been granted asylum or residency in Sweden. It is considerably harder for them to find work compared to men in a similar situation, but guidance focused on work and gender equality produces results.
New measures in the fight for gender equality in the Nordics
The 2018 gender equality barometer indicates a more equal division of power between the sexes in the Nordic region. Only Finland is lagging behind. #metoo shows more needs to be done in the fight for gender equality. The Nordic region is getting to grips with basic and structural changes in order to improve the gender balance in the workplace and in society as a whole.
Women tighten grip on power in Norway - bottom place for Finland
When Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg met the world’s most powerful man, alongside her was also Norway’s first ever female Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ine Eriksen Søreide. Norway still leads NLJ’s gender equality barometer by a good margin, while Finland has fewer women in positions of power than any Nordic country has had for 19 years.
How should trade unions handle #metoo?
The #metoo movement’s many appalling stories show that parallel to rules and regulations there has been culture of silence which has made sexual assaults and harassment possible. This is a challenge for trade unions on all levels, concluded Nordic trade union representatives at a meeting in Stockholm in February.
"Finnish home care support increases inequality"
Fewer Finnish children go to nursery than elsewhere in the Nordic region. One reason is the home care support, paid to parents who chose to stay at home beyond the normal parental leave period. The organisation Mothers in Business wants to scrap the benefit altogether, calling it a trap for women.
Enormous interest for Icelandic equal pay standard
Iceland is the first country in the world to make it legally binding for all companies with more than 25 employees to have an equal pay standard. The law says there should be equal pay for equal work for women and men in the same workplace. This has gained international attention.
Earmarked equal pay pool to reduce gender pay gap
Danish trade unions and political parties have proposed to earmark a separate pool of money to increase pay in traditional female occupations. One expert calls it a necessary first step, but warns more is needed to get rid of gender divisions in the labour market altogether.
Theme: New measures in the fight for gender equality in the Nordics
The 2018 gender equality barometer indicates a more equal division of power between the sexes in the Nordic region. Only Finland is lagging behind. #metoo shows more needs to be done in the fight for gender equality. The Nordic region is getting to grips with basic and structural changes in order to improve the gender balance in the workplace and in society as a whole.
Youths, work and inclusion
When young people are given the chance to create and master, results can be surprisingly good. The young entrepreneurs in No Isolation and Blueye Robotics have come up with innovative solutions to challenges like social isolation and polluted oceans.
Swedish cooperation could half time it takes youths and newly arrived to find work
It takes foreign born jobseekers less time to enter the Swedish labour market than it used to. But some, especially women and people with lower education, still face major challenges. Cooperation on a local level between the Employment Service and municipalities could help.
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