Living Working in Norway 2016 Norway

Living & Working in Norway 2016

Norway • • • Currency: Norwegian kroner, NOK Constitutional monarchy, King Harald V and Queen Sonja Conservative coalition government since October 2013. Prime Minister, Mrs Erna Solberg Population: 5, 1 million Unemployment (dec. 2015): 3, 6 % - increasing € 1 NOK 9 - 10

Geography Vadsø 6. 200 • Population: 5. 138. 000 • 16 persons per km 2 • Tromsø 72. 000 Capital Oslo Bodø 50. 000 – 635. 000 inhabitants • 19 counties • Biggest cities: Trondheim 182. 000 Bergen 272. 000 Stavanger 131. 000 Kristiansand 86. 000

Registration and Residence www. workinnorway. no • EU/EEA citizens have the right to work in Norway from the first day of arrival. • Job holders must register with UDI, the Directorate of Immigration – Register online at www. udi. no or at the Service Centre for Foreign workers (www. sua. no ) • Job seekers register only if staying longer than 3 months (max 6 months) • When you have got a job, you will need to apply for: – a National Identification number (report move to Norway) – a Taxation card Ø Tax office and population register www. taxnorway. no

Labour Market situation Unemployment rate dec. 2015: 3, 6 % (increasing) • Highest Oil & Gas Construction Industry Transport Engineers: up 70% increase • Lowest Academic work Education Health

Labour Market – demand • Health sector (next slides) • Hotel and Tourism – chefs and waiters/waitresses (seasonal) • Education – Researchers and scientists – teaching in scientific and technical subjetcts – Pre-School Teachers • Construction Sector – Skilled workers: electricians, roofers, HVAC technicians, drivers of construction engines… – Engineers: water management and waste water treatment, civil works (roads, bridges, tunnels, railways) • Services – Car mechanics, lorry mechanics, construction engines mechanics

Healthcare – most wanted professionals • Specialized nurses – mostly in hospitals • • Intensive care Theater nursing (operation nursing) • General nurses – mostly in care homes, but also in hospitals for the summer season. • Doctors specialists – mostly in hospitals • • • Psychiatry/mental health Substance abuse treatment Radiology Neurology Oncology Eye medicine

Healthcare – most wanted professionals • Pharmacists – to private pharmacy chains and public hospital pharmacies • Occupational therapists – mostly to care homes NB: occupational therapist is a Bachelor degree study in Norway and is considered as a medical profession • General practitioners – mostly to municipal medical centers and care homes

Healthcare - important to know The Healthcare Sector in Norway is mainly public, organised in 3 main parts: • The Municipal Health Services (Kommunehelsetjenesten) • The Regional Health Authorities (Regionale helseforetak) • Private Health Services and companies(Private helsetjenester) • Requirements to work as a healthcare professional: – Authorisation from the Norwegian Directorate of Health www. helsedirektoratet. no/english – B 2 level of Norwegian • Some hospital trusts provide Norwegian language courses

How to look for and apply for jobs

How to look for jobs • Job search on the web www. eures. europa. eu the EURES Portal www. nav. no/englisheures vacancies on nav. no in English www. finn. no/jobb • Recruiting agencies, agencies for temporary work www. stillinger. no • Network and contacts • Social Media (Linked. In, Facebook, Twitter) • Direct contact with companies in order to present yourself www. gulesider. no

www. nav. no/en

Job seeking CV CV in English or Norwegian (1 -2 pages maximum) § Personal info (name, address, phone, e-mail, nationality) § Key qualifications (talents/ special skills / profession) § Education (describe shortly; use bullet points in stead of sentences) § Work experience (describe shortly; use bullet points instead of sentences) § Courses and certificates § Language skills § Interests § References (former employer or colleague + phone number) Ø Decreasing chronological order Ø No abbreviations!

Job seeking Cover letter • Cover letter in English or Norwegian • Write a new application for each job and focus on: • Why are you applying for the job • Why are you the right person for the job • Why the employer should choose you • Why Norway https: //www. nav. no/en/Home/Work+and+stay+in+Norway/Tips+for+job +seekers/Write+a+tailored+job+application

Recognition of qualifications Recognition of higher education and of vocational qualifications = NOKUT www. nokut. no 2 main types of recognition: NOKUT’s general recognition: for higher education Other recognition systems: for regulated professions, craft certificates etc. NB! about 180 professions are regulated in Norway. Check if your profession is listed in the “List of regulated professions”. Eg. : healthcare professionals, electricians, crane operator, fork lift operator, accountant/auditor ….

Norwegian language courses Free online Norwegian courses: www. ntnu. edu/learnnow www. duolingo. com • Class courses: Municipality «kommune» www. xxx. kommune. no Others (examples): www. fu. no all over Norway www. alfaskolen. no • Online courses (examples): www. migranorsk. no www. cyberbook. no www. aof. no www. alfaskolen. no NB: The classes are not free of charge for EU/EEA citizens, and are quite expensive (eg. 2400 euros for fulltime 5 months course) www. klartale. no «easy-to-read newspaper» , in Norwegian

Employment Issues • “Working environment act” • Employers are required to give you a written employment contract with: – Starting date – Working hours (37, 5 – 40 hours per week) – Wages, paid when and how often (pr month) – Trial period (testing period, maximum 6 months) – Period of notice (2 weeks-3 months) – Holidays in Norway (25 days) • www. arbeidstilsynet. no Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority • Culture for trade unions

Salaries / Taxes • Average gross salary pr month (for last quarter 2014) was NOK 42. 300 (approx. 4500 €) • Salary information: Trade Unions List on: www. fagligvev. no/Norske_fagforbund. htm • Employer deducts taxes from your monthly pay, between 30 -38%. • Salaries are decided according to collective wages agreements between the employers organizations and the trade unions. • Minimum salaries only in: construction sector, agriculture, cleaning, maritime construction industry, electricity, road transport (goods and passengers) and fish processing. • Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority for more details on wages and working conditions: www. arbeidstilsynet. no

Housing

House Costs • Average rental cost in Norway per month (2015): 1 bedroom apartment approx. NOK 6290 (670 €) 2 bedrooms apartment approx. NOK 7480 (800 €) 3 bedrooms apartment approx. NOK 8860 (945 €) • Oslo and other big cities (Bergen, Trondheim…) = the most expensive. Big variations within the cities • Housing costs = 40 -50% of income • Most Norwegians own their own house. About 90% of couples living together own their own house/apartment. • Most used for rental search: www. finn. no/eiendom and www. hybel. no

Is Norway expensive? • Most Norwegian families are two-income economies • Clothing and food prices average for Europe • Income tax is also average for Europe • Housing is expensive (approximately 40 -50% of your income) • Luxury items are expensive (hotels, alcohol, cigarettes, etc. ) • VAT (sales tax) on some items higher than in many countries…. • Cars are very expensive. • Petrol is also expensive, despite the fact that Norway is an oil producing country. The prices will vary from day to day. On average it costs about 2 euro per liter. • It is expensive to visit Norway as a tourist.

Climate and You

FRIDAY after work…

Thank you for your attention! Questions? Carolien Vandersmissen Senior Adviser NAV EURES Finmark carolien. vandersmissen@nav. no