Newsletter from the Nordic Labour Journal - March 2010

New skills for new jobs - the Nordic way

Even though unemployment is still high in the Nordic region, completely new careers are also emerging. Technology and the demand for new services fuel the growth of new jobs. Universities and colleges of higher education carve out their niches by inventing new educations. Sweden has played a key role in the ESCO taxonomy project. The aim is to link all occupational classification systems in the European Union so that they can operate together. The Nordic Labour Journal takes a closer look at a few completely new jobs: meet the Office Nomad, the DNA-interpreter and some Living Statues.

An open EU labour market needs common occupational classifications

Sweden has been leading an ambitious EU project to translate more than 5,000 job titles and related terms into 22 languages. The project also describes the qualifications needed to get these jobs. This common 'encyclopedia' for working life aims to improve cross-border labour market mobility.

Norwegian tripartite agreement on sick leave

Norway's government and the social partners have reached a new agreement aimed at reducing sick leave. The agreement covers the next four years and prolongs the 2001 Inclusive Workplace Agreement.

Inger Støjberg - fighting unemployment with cross-party cooperation

Just as the economic crisis hit Denmark in April 2009, Inger Støjberg took up her position as Minister of Employment and Gender Equality. She was already known as an outspoken spokeswoman for the Danish Liberal Party. Now she is the promoter of broad agreements with the opposition.

Joint fight against long-term unemployment

Getting the long-term unemployed back into work is hard. You need focus, determination, the will to try new things and good cooperation between companies, job centres and education, says Denmark's Minister of Labour Inger Støjberg. She is gathering inspiration for a new initiative against long-term unemployment.

"Myths muddle debate on sick leave"

Björn Johnson is fighting what he calls the myth of Sweden's high levels of sick leave. The Malmo University researcher has just published 'The Fight Over Sick Leave', a book exploring why and when sick leave became defined as a social problem.

Sick leave in Finland: municipalities on the right track

Many Finish municipalities have managed to turn the trend of ever increasing levels of sick leave. As the country's largest municipal employer, the City of Helsinki is developing ways of helping people on long-term sick leave to get back to work.

The constant hunt for ways to limit sick leave

Levels of sick leave vary a lot between the different Nordic countries, yet it seems it gets harder and harder to qualify for sickness benefit - whether the level of sick leave rises or falls. There is no agreement among researchers on what really lies behind these variations, nor on what policies actually work.