📋 Tender Overview
Many feared that the pandemic would lead to a tougher labour market for newly qualified skilled workers, but new figures from the Directorate for Education and Training show that employment is increasing and that there are more people in work now than before the pandemic.
"The fact that more people find work quickly after graduation shows that skilled workers have sought-after skills in working life. I also think it emphasizes the importance of working actively against dropout rates in vocational subjects, and for more apprenticeships on the road to a certificate of apprenticeship and working life, says Minister of Education and Research Tonje Brenna (Labour).
Employment among newly qualified skilled workers has been stable, high in recent years, and new figures show that it has increased by two percentage points compared with last year. 83 per cent of those who passed the vocational or journeyman test in 2021 and 2022 are in work one year after graduation, according to figures from the Directorate for Education and Training. That's an increase from before the pandemic.
"I am very pleased that so many newly qualified skilled workers are employed shortly after completing their education. This shows that our focus on vocational education is working. Norway need many more skilled workers and I hope this inspires everyone who is considering starting or has started a vocational education to complete with a certificate of apprenticeship. We're going to need all the heads and hands we have in the years to come," Brenna said. The completion rate in vocational courses is 20 percentage points lower than in general studies. A main reason is still that many students do not get an apprenticeship.
"In 2023, more than one billion will be spent on vocational courses and qualifications. The measures include following up the pupils more closely throughout their school years in vocational courses and when they go out as apprentices, obtaining more apprenticeships and investing in the quality of vocational education," says Brenna.
Innlandet and Trøndelag have the highest number of newly qualified skilled workers in employment
The number of people who find work in the year after the vocational examination varies between counties. The proportion is highest in Innlandet and Trøndelag with 85 per cent. In Nordland, 84 per cent are employed one year after graduation. The proportion is lowest in Møre og Romsdal with 78 per cent.
Employment also varies between educational programmes. Those who have studied civil engineering have the highest employment rate, at 89 per cent. The lowest employment rates have those who have attended design and crafts. There, 74 per cent of the graduates are employed one year after they have completed their apprenticeship certificate.
"We know that many industries are struggling to find skilled workers already today, and by 2035 Norway may lack almost 90,000 skilled workers. The Government is working to ensure that vocational education and training is good and relevant, so that more people choose vocational courses and that they complete their apprenticeship certificate. Then we need a more practical, varied and adapted school day that means that we lose as few as possible along the way," says Brenna.
