News
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Norwegian pilot project: get work-ready in the workplace
Nordic employment authorities usually use one of two approaches when trying to help people far removed from the labour market. The traditional one is to make the job seeker “job ready” before starting work. The other is to train people for the labour market in an actual workplace.
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Record low unemployment in the Faroe Islands – just 296 people
Nowhere in the Nordics will you find a higher employment rate than in the Faroe Islands right now. It stands at 90%, and unemployment is only 0.9%. What is it like in a society where nearly everyone has a job, and where being unemployed is correspondingly difficult?
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Labour Ministers invite Nicolas Schmit to meeting
Nordic governments are joining forces to explain the Nordic labour market model to EU lawmakers. The Labour Ministers have sent a letter to the new Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, inviting him to a meeting in Copenhagen in early April to discuss the Nordic countries’ chosen priorities.
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The Nordics lack children – only Greenland stands out
The Nordic countries often top global rankings for happiness and gender equality. But who will benefit from this in the future, when fertility rates are falling and populations are ageing? According to the State of the Nordic Region 2020 report, only in Greenland are there far more children than old people.
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The North Sea Diver – working under pressure
There are few stories describing working life in Norway’s offshore oil industry, despite the massive impact the sector has had on the country’s economy. Now a new book details one of most remarkable new occupations that emerged from the industry – the deep sea divers. The author is Swedish Hans Claesson.
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Varða – Iceland’s new labour market research institute
The Icelandic Confederation of Labour ASÍ and the Federation of State and Municipal Employees BSRB have agreed to set up a new institute for labour market research in the country.
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Rail suicides: a joint Nordic approach to reduce numbers
Every year, 3,500 people in the Nordic region take their own lives. The Nordic Council Welfare Committee wants to stop this happening and has presented a vision to prevent all suicide. One of the group’s proposals is a vision zero for rail suicides by 2025.
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“We must protect our police force”
There is a parliamentary majority in Sweden for recruiting more police officers. There has been a tripling of police training places in recent years. 546 new police officers recently graduated.
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Tuula Haatainen new Finnish Minister of Employment
Experienced Haatainen (59) joins a government which features numerous young female minister. So what experience do Finnish politicians have from real working life? The question arose with Finland’s sudden change of government in mid-December.
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How Norway got EU benefit regulations wrong for seven years
What lies behind Norway’s scandalous miscarriage of justice that led to 2,400 people being branded benefit cheats because the state misinterpreted the EEA agreement? And how could this have gone on for seven years?
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