Living and Working in Norway, October 2009 NAV EURES Norway – EURES Adviser Bodil Broch-Austvoll

NAV, Side 2 Norway – the country ”up north”

NAV, Side 3 Some facts and figures… Statistics:  Length 1750 km  7th largest in Europe  4,8 mill. inhabitants  19 Counties Largest cities:  Oslo ( )  Bergen ( )  Trondheim ( )  Stavanger ( )

NAV, Side 4 Unemployment pr region 3,2 % 2,5 % 2,7% 2,3 % 2,4 % 1,7 % 2.1 % 2,9 % 3,1 %

NAV, Side 5 Labour Market II - Shortages – Engineers (with experience) – IT specialists (with experience) – Mechanical Industry (skilled workers) – Health sector (doctors and specialised nurses) – Hotel and tourism (Seasonal - chefs and waiters) – Preschool Teachers – Construction sector (highly skilled workers only) – Transport (bus drivers and long-distance)

NAV, Side 6 Labour Market III - surpluses – Consultants (economy/administration) – Office workers – Health sector (unskilled workers) – Sales and service staff – Construction (unskilled craftsmen) – Hotel/Restaurant (unskilled workers) – Industrial sector (unskilled workers)

NAV, Side 7 Language – Most Norwegians speak English – But most of the employers require that you speak Norwegian, or an Scandinavian language – The Norwegian authorities do not offer EU/EEA citizens language courses free of charge

NAV, Side 8 Jobseeking I  Make a Curriculum Vitae (CV) in English: – Personalia (name, address, phone, etc.) – Education (describe shortly) – Work Experience (describe shortly) – Courses – Language skills – Interests – References (former employer + phone numbers) – Photos not required – 1-2 pages maximum Use Living & Working in Norway (last page)

NAV, Side 9 Jobseeking II  Find jobs at: – (Choose Norway) – (Choose English) – (NAV EURES in English)  Call for jobs at: NAV Service Centre Phone - Phone: Opening hours: Monday – Friday 08:00 – 18:00  Contact the EURES Adviser in your area

NAV, Side 10 Jobseeking III  Yellow pages - (English version)  Companies’ web sites  Use Google, Yahoo etc.  Contact employers directly  Use your personal network  60/70% of the jobs are NOT advertised

NAV, Side 11 – jobs, social security and more….

NAV, Side 12 Employment issues  “Working environment act”  All employers are required to give you a written contract which should contain: – Starting date – Working hours (37,5 – 40 hours per week) – Wages, paid when and how often (pr month) – Trial period (6 months) – Period of notice (3 months/ 2 weeks) – Holidays in Norway (5 weeks)  (Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority)

NAV, Side 13 Wages  No national minimum wages: – Employers’ and labour unions negotiate – Except Construction: minimum wages per hour NOK 115 and 134, (€ 13/16)  Unskilled labour wages: – App. NOK 90 – 120 (€ 10 – 15) per hour  Skilled labour wages: – App. NOK 110 – 150 (€ 13 – 18) per hour  Specialist labour wages: – App. NOK 180 and higher (€ 21->) per hour

NAV, Side 14 The National Insurance Scheme  As a rule all persons working in Norway are automatically insured  You pay a national insurance contribution through your taxes  As a members of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme you may be entitled to such rights and benefits as: – Sick pay – Child and family benefits – Unemployment benefits – Pensions – Occupational injury – Assigned doctor  NAV SERVICE PHONE: (Information in English, Polish and some other languages) 

NAV, Side 15 Recognition of qualifications<.  (vocational and higher education)  (authorization of health personnel) Useful websites II

NAV, Side 16 Good ideas  Start learning Norwegian  Try to find out where in Norway you want to live  Find out what kind of jobs you are interested in  Send your CV around, and follow them up by calling

NAV, Side 17 Questions?

NAV, Side 18 Velkommen til Norge! Bodil Broch-Austvoll EURES adviser (+47)