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Migration

Articles on migration.

Everybody wants to know about refugees’ skills

Everybody wants to know about refugees’ skills

While the Nordic countries tightened border controls and made it harder for refugees to seek asylum, they also changed their policies to help refugees get quicker access to the labour market. In Norway the asylum seekers can now register their skills by themselves.

Everybody wants to know about refugees’ skills - Read More…

Polish immigrants in Norway – with only one foot in the labour market

Polish immigrants in Norway – with only one foot in the labour market

Polish labour immigrants travelled to Norway rather than to Sweden or Denmark, which were closer, when Poland joined the EU in 2004. Most did not intend to stay, but after some years their families joined them in Norway. Because of short work contracts, the immigrants are in a kind of limbo. They have a job, but little prospect of promotion.

Polish immigrants in Norway – with only one foot in the labour market - Read More…

Grete Brochmann on refugee policies: Nordics more coordinated now

Grete Brochmann on refugee policies: Nordics more coordinated now

The Nordic countries are more coordinated now than they were during the major influx of refugees in 2015, believes Grete Brochmann. She has led the two latest inquiries into immigration to Norway.

Grete Brochmann on refugee policies: Nordics more coordinated now - Read More…

Refugee immigration not primarily about money

What do refugees cost? It is a concern for both proponents and opponents of welcoming refugees to a country. Yet research shows the challenge is more social than economic, where the major risk of alienation lies in the gap between those who have a job and those who do not.

Refugee immigration not primarily about money - Read More…

Labour market inclusion more important than learning Finnish

Labour market inclusion more important than learning Finnish

Why should it take seven years for immigrants to get nothing more than low-paid work, when there are expensive labour market measures in place? When can they get a well-paid job in the private sector after just one year!

Labour market inclusion more important than learning Finnish - Read More…

Palestinian, woman, dyslexic – and successful businessperson in Iceland

Palestinian, woman, dyslexic – and successful businessperson in Iceland

Fida Abu Libdeh arrived in Iceland aged 16. “I didn’t even understand whether my teacher was trying to teach me Icelandic or Danish. It wasn’t until many years later I learnt I had dyslexia,” she says.

Palestinian, woman, dyslexic – and successful businessperson in Iceland - Read More…

Old people and politics

The Faroe Islands want to tempt women to move back home. There is a female deficit. Like in many more remote areas in the Nordic region, there is a demographic imbalance. Young people are drawn to urban areas, and the older grow older still. Can migrants fill the holes in the labour market as the health and care sectors’ responsibilities grow? “The hundred-year-wave hits the Nordic labour market” is this issue's theme.

Old people and politics - Read More…

 Refugees bring new life to Finnish Punkalaidun, known for its coffins

Refugees bring new life to Finnish Punkalaidun, known for its coffins

The road to Punkalaidun is beautiful, but treacherously winding and slippery in the wintertime. This is far out into the countryside. The municipality is more than 150 kilometres north-west of Helsinki.

Refugees bring new life to Finnish Punkalaidun, known for its coffins - Read More…

"The welfare model is vulnerable to high levels of immigration of adults with low skills levels."

"The welfare model is vulnerable to high levels of immigration of adults with low skills levels."

There was great concern in the Nordic countries a few years ago that they would be hit by an age shock. The fear was an increasing lack of labour as a result of falling numbers of young and middle aged people. But out of the four main demographic drivers, only one developed as expected: Populations are ageing.

"The welfare model is vulnerable to high levels of immigration of adults with low skills levels." - Read More…

Municipalities could be saved by newcomers

Municipalities could be saved by newcomers

By 2030 Sweden’s countryside could have lost one third of its employable population compared to the year 2000, resulting in lost tax revenues, increased healthcare needs and a lack of labour. Many municipalities now put their hopes in the successful integration of newcomers. Krokom municipality is one of them.

Municipalities could be saved by newcomers - Read More…

Newcomers one of the solutions to the need for labour

Newcomers can represent an important contribution to the labour markets in the ageing Nordic countries if they learn the language and are given the opportunity to settle into the labour market, especially in more remote areas which for decades have been loosing many of their employable young to the cities.

Newcomers one of the solutions to the need for labour - Read More…

The 100-year-wave hits the Nordic labour market

The 100-year-wave hits the Nordic labour market

Can migrants close the gaps in the labour market when the centenary wave hits the Nordic countries? Even if the population is growing, it is at the same time becoming older. We meet Vappu Bergren, almost 100 years old, some of the immigrants who have come to the North and researchers who warn that the welfare model is vulnerable.

The 100-year-wave hits the Nordic labour market - Read More…

Nordic working life facing up to changing times

Nordic working life facing up to changing times

The labour market is changing. When the Nordic labour ministers met in Helsinki on 29 November, the integration of refugees into the labour market and challenges like demographics, new technology and a fragmented labour market were among the central issues. Together with the ILO, the discussion carried on around the future of work and gender equality.

Nordic working life facing up to changing times - Read More…

Three main strands for Norway's Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers

“This is exciting,” state secretary Christl Kvam told the Nordic Labour Journal as she debuted at the Nordic ministers’ meeting as a representative for the upcoming Norwegian Presidency.

Three main strands for Norway's Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers - Read More…

Refugees as labour market resource – can Norway learn from Sweden?

There is an important Nordic debate on how to integrate refugees faster and better into the labour market. At the Nordic ministers’ meeting in Helsinki, the exchange of experiences and new policies inspired discussions and new ways of thinking.

Refugees as labour market resource – can Norway learn from Sweden? - Read More…

Roskilde municipality thinks new to get refugees faster into jobs

Roskilde municipality thinks new to get refugees faster into jobs

Getting newly arrived refugees quickly into work is a high priority with Roskilde municipality. Experience shows that early and employment-focused activation helps all parties.

Roskilde municipality thinks new to get refugees faster into jobs - Read More…

How do you integrate last year’s refugees into the labour market?

How do you integrate last year’s refugees into the labour market?

Refugees represent a different type of group compared to labour immigrants. The integrating of last year’s record number of refugees to the Nordic region will therefore probably take longer than for labour immigrants. There is also a risk that labour market integration runs into problems after five to ten years, warned researches at a Nordic seminar held in Oslo.

How do you integrate last year’s refugees into the labour market? - Read More…

The Nordic Council wants to simplify border obstacles

The Nordic Council wants to simplify border obstacles

The refugee crisis engaged the participants at the Nordic Council’s session in Copenhagen. Border controls introduced one year ago between Sweden and Denmark run contrary to the open Nordic labour market. A joint Nordic control at the border between Germany and Denmark is one suggested solution for easing the problems faced by Öresund commuters.

The Nordic Council wants to simplify border obstacles - Read More…

Elisabeth Vik Aspaker, the government minister in charge of Nordic cooperation in 2017

Elisabeth Vik Aspaker, the government minister in charge of Nordic cooperation in 2017

Elisabeth Vik Aspaker is Norway's Minister of EEA and EU Affairs, and the Minister of Nordic Cooperation. She comes from Norway's northernmost county and is used to working across the Cap of the North. She has been an advisor and state secretary in several centre-right governments and is well prepared for 2017. That is when she will be in charge of Nordic cooperation. What will be her priorities?

Elisabeth Vik Aspaker, the government minister in charge of Nordic cooperation in 2017 - Read More…

Frustrated border commuters in the south, hopeful border cooperation in the north

Frustrated border commuters in the south, hopeful border cooperation in the north

Train delays resulting from ID checks at Öresund is irritating and tiring for many border commuters, while new agreements for cooperation are made in the Nordics’ northern regions. Commuter routes between Norway and Sweden are also as busy as ever.

Frustrated border commuters in the south, hopeful border cooperation in the north - Read More…

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Map international migration International migration in the Nordic region

Map made by Nordregio, Johanna Rato

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