Tourism sector expecting redundancies if government schemes aren’t extended

An employer organisation, The Federation of Norwegian Enterprise, has said it’s heard from several businesses in the tourism industry that have said that jobs will be cut if the government’s scheme for laid-off workers and other support for companies is not extended beyond October 1st. 

“Yesterday alone, we received several inquiries from companies that write that they have no choice but to go to redundancies if the scheme for laid-off workers is not extended,” Astrid Bergmål from the Federation of Norwegian enterprise told press agency NTB. 

Several government schemes are set to end at the beginning of October as the Norwegian government winds down its Covid support schemes. 

“These companies point out that they have not yet taken part in the reopening and that international travel restrictions mean that in reality, they are still closed,” Bergmål said. 

Jobs minister Torbjørn Røe Isaksen said he understood the problem but couldn’t promise any further measures.

Significant demand for workers and growing job vacancies in IT 

There has been a surge in demand for skilled workers in Norway in the IT and software sectors, according to industry experts. 

“We need a lot of people in IT and software, but we also need skilled workers for industrial production,” the HR director from the Kongsberg group, Hans Petter Blokkum, told public broadcaster NRK. 

The Confederation Of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO) has echoed this view. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the rise of remote working and digitisation in Norway has led to a much greater demand for IT workers. 

“There is a great need for IT expertise because the corona crisis has given us a great leap towards digitisation,” Øystein Dørum, chief economist at NHO, told NRK. 

Which other industries are growing?

Recent figures have revealed there are around 50 percent more job listings in Norway than there were at the same time last year. 

The figures from listing site Finn.no have also revealed which industries have seen the biggest jump in vacancies compared to last year and 2019, the last year to be undisrupted by the pandemic. 

Industry and production is the largest growing sector in Norway at the moment, seeing a 78 percent increase compared to last year and a 31 percent jump in jobs compared to pre-pandemic levels. 

In the retail and trade sector, there have been over 60 percent more job postings compared to 2020 and a fifth more than in 2019. 

Education and childcare have also seen a sharp rise in job listings, with 46 more than last year and 16 percent more than the year before. 

Healthcare has seen just under 30 percent more listings this year and a smidge below 40 percent more than in 2019. 

Construction and building have seen the fifth largest growth in terms of job listings, with a five percent increase compared to last year and seven percent more than in 2019. 

Poll: How important is it for foreign workers to be able to speak Norwegian in the workplace? 

For this week’s poll, we want to hear how important you think it is to be able to speak Norwegian in the workplace. 

There are many companies in Norway where the working language will be English or another language, and some jobs may not even list Norwegian as a requirement. Let us know your thoughts as part of the survey. 

Did you know? 

Norway’s parental leave is both flexible and generous. If both the mother and the father have been in the workforce for at least 6 out of the 10 months leading up to the birth of their child, then they are both entitled to paid parental leave.

Parental leave provisions allow for the mother to choose between 15 weeks’ parental leave with 100 percent of their original wages or 19 weeks with 80 percent of their original wages.

The father is entitled to the same and can start his paternity leave after the newborn is seven weeks old. In addition, there is a joint parental leave time that can be divided up between both mother and father under certain guidelines. 

Useful links

Below you’ll find a couple of helpful articles, guides and resources put together by The Local, which cover key aspects of working life in Norway.

‘Feriepenger’: What you need to know about holiday pay in Norway

What you need to know about setting up as a freelancer in Norway

Is this useful?

Please get in touch with me at [email protected] to let me know if this weekly feature is useful and any suggestions you have for jobs related articles on The Local Norway.