There is great agreement in the Nordic region that investing in
language skills is necessary for integration. Still
there is a considerable gap between words and reality. Different
countries are willing to provide and demand different levels of
language skills. Denmark provides the most with 2,000 hours of Danish
language training, while Norway and Sweden offer no more than 5 – 600
hours.
Language has become a source for joint understanding. In Denmark
they reckon English will become the language of consensus in the long
run, but for now workers and businesses are willing to invest heavily
in using the national language.
Coca-Cola Norway is one company which has made an effort to adapt to
multinationalism. They provide prayer rooms, special foods and working
hours to fit different religious holidays. But when Coca-Cola
representatives visited Norwegian dairy company Tine and realised
everyone was talking Norwegian in the canteen, they decided to focus on
language training in the work place. It has become their most important
tool in the work for good integration. Language – the key to
working life, is this month’s theme in focus.
Increasing globalisation also changes Nordic cooperation and gives
life to new Nordic stories. The Nordic prime ministers have started a
process which should strengthen Nordic competetiveness. A recent
Copenhagen conference heard many ideas for how this will
work.
Language plays an important role in the Nordic cooperation too.
Norway’s Cooperation Minister puts it bluntly in the Portrait: “If we
in the Nordic Region one day no longer can speak Scandinavian languages
to each other I believe the cooperation will be lost.” Cooperation
Minister Rigmor Aasrud wants to engage the grass roots and improve the
understanding of Scandinavian languages. She feels this is a
prerequisite for the free movement of labour, which helps dampen the
swings in the labour market and gives each citizen the opportunity to
work in a different Nordic country with greater ease. Norway and
Denmark are currently profiting from the labour of young
Swedes. In addition we need to give more people a better chance in
future:
“Danish pronunciation is difficult
but I want to fully master it so I can train to be a health and social
care assistant. I want to care for older people,” says Juan Chen
who arrived to Denmark from China three years ago.
