In focus
Nordjobb 30 years: creating the future Nordic enthusiasts
Jun 22, 2015 Nordjobb is one of the most concrete of the many Nordic cooperation projects. Giving 750 youths the chance to spend a few months working in a different country might not sound like much. But the experience changes many people's view of the Nordic region. For others the experience is life-changing.
News
Complicated relationship between EU and Nordic labour law systems
Jun 22, 2015 The courts have acquired a greater role in the labour law system at the expense of politicians and the social partners. And knowing what the law actually means is becoming so difficult for employers and trade unions that the rule of law is under threat, argue the authors of a new book from the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Portrait
Former EU Commissioner Poul Nielson: The Nordic region plays a role
Jun 22, 2015 “The Nordic region is not an island in the global society. If we want to protect what we care about and make sure we are not overrun by the values of others, we need to enter that fight,” Poul Nielson tells the Nordic Labour Journal.
Analysis
Labour market and gender: tough challenges for Finland’s new government
Jun 12, 2015 Negotiations to form a new government in Finland are over and the new government ministers in the three party coalition are ready to start the job of lifting the country out of the economic crisis. For the past ten years there has been plenty of political activity but the results have not materialised. Labour market reform is one of the most difficult issues.
In focus
PIAAC Nordic: many adults poor at problem solving using computers
May 21, 2015 Nordic countries get top scores in OECD’s survey of adult competencies. Now new comparative Nordic research reveals that far from everyone is on the winning team. A surprising 10 percent of the population have poor skills in literacy, numeracy and problem solving using a PC.
Editorial
Basic skills - use them or lose them
May 21, 2015 The results from the first ever Nordic PIAAC report are both exciting and frightening. It shows a surprising number of people have such poor basic skills that it affects their chances in working and public life, and it does not improve with age either.
tema
Nordics: Surprisingly many struggle with literacy and numeracy
May 21, 2015 The challenge facing politicians is helping two million adults who lack the necessary skills for working and social life to secure a chance to develop, says Anders Rosdahl. He is a senior research fellow at the Danish National Centre for Social Research, and the Danish representative in the network which has just presented the Nordic PIAAC report.
tema
New comparative Nordic research measures adult competencies
May 21, 2015 For the first time ever there is a Nordic version of the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, PIAAC. PIAAC was first published in 2013. The survey comprises comparative data from 24 countries.
tema
Workplace learning depends on what we learned in school
May 21, 2015 Our capacity to learn at work is to a large degree dependent on what we have learned in school, and working life cannot fully compensate for differences in formal schooling. That is according to a new Nordic survey which builds on the OECD’s large skills survey PIAAC. Many women in a gender segregated labour market are even loosing their numeracy skills.
tema
PIAAC researchers in Finland and Estonia: Continuity is key
May 21, 2015 There are no shortcuts for creating a foundation for the skills needed in working life. It is a time consuming process. Finland’s good results in international surveys stem from a 1970s school reform. The results are now at risk due to cuts and readjustments. Estonia, meanwhile, is catching up with the Nordic countries.
forskning
Norway’s female boardroom quotas: what has been the effect?
May 21, 2015 Eight years after Norway introduced the law on gender equality in boardrooms, there are zero female CEOs in the country’s 60 largest companies. Mari Teigen and other researchers have written a book about why the boardroom quota system has had such a small “contagious” effect.
Analysis
Greenland — worth the journey
May 21, 2015 The fisheries producing the Greenland prawns and halibut still represent Greenland’s most important industry, and the grant from Denmark is still the country’s largest source of money. The dream is for mining and perhaps oil to make up a larger part of the revenue.
News
Poul Nielson to map Nordic labour cooperation
May 12, 2015 The entire Nordic labour sector will be analysed by Poul Nielson, a former Danish government minister and EU Commissioner, on behalf of the Nordic Council of Ministers. Nielson will present recommendations for how to strengthen Nordic labour market cooperation.
News
June general strike looms in Iceland
May 12, 2015 Iceland is already dealing with several strikes and more trade unions are threatening industrial action. There will be a general strike in June if the parties fail to reach a collective agreement. The strikes have already become the largest labour market conflict in Iceland in 25 years.
In focus
A Nordic helping hand to marginalised youths
Apr 15, 2015 A large group of youths are not in education, employment or training - so-called NEETs. There is increased focus across Europe on ways to prevent this group of young people from permanently falling outside of the labour market. The Nordic countries have good experiences with finding, motivating and preparing these youths for work.
Editorial