LIVING & WORKING IN NORWAY EURES adviser Gry Kristin Vist

NAV, Side 2 NAV EURES  The Norwegian Labour & Welfare Organisation  EURES – EURopean Employment Services  Information about labour market, living and working abroad   

NAV, Side 3 Geography  Length km  420 km at the widest, 6 km at the narrowest  7 largest country in Europe, very long coastline  Borders to Sweden, Finland and Russia  4,7 million inhabitants  Largest cities: Oslo ( ) Bergen ( ) Trondheim ( ) Stavanger ( )  Climate – from – 30 C to + 30C

NAV, Side 4

NAV, Side 5 Language  Most Norwegians speak English ...But most of the employers require Norwegian spoken, or a Scandinavian laguage  Ask your local Eures Adviser about language courses in your country  The Norwegian authorities do not offer EU/EEA citizens language courses free of charge

NAV, Side 6 Labour Market I  Unemployment: ca 1,9 % average (September 2008)  Vacancies ”Education and special skills is the best guarantee to stay in, or make an easy entry into, the labour market”

NAV, Side 7 Labour Market II Vocational education and relevant experience  Shortages: Engineers-many sectors, mechanical industry (skilled workers), health sector (dentists, doctors), hotel and tourism (chefs and waiters), service sector (hairdressers)  Surpluses: consultants (economy/administration), office workers, sales and service staff

NAV, Side 8 Transitional rules for NY EU10  Special rules for residence permits for citizens from EEA countries that entered the EU after 01 May 2004  Changed – You can now begin working while your application is being processed  Offer for full-time position with salary according to Norwegian industry standards  Complete application with all necessary documents  The local police handles applications (in some cases the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration -UDI)

NAV, Side 9 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 (name of former employer + phone numbers)

NAV, Side 10 Jobseeking II     NAV Service Centre Phone – – Monday – Friday 08:00 – 18:00  Contact the EURES Adviser in your area

NAV, Side 11 Jobseeking III  60-70% of the jobs are not advertised  Use (Yellow pages), English version – Search by category, location etc.  Look up companies’ web sites  Use search motors such as Google, Yahoo etc.  Contact employers directly  Use your personal network

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)

NAV, Side 13 Wages – more information  No national minimum wage: employers and labour unions negotiate industry standard wage levels which apply for all workers  Public sector: – Scale of salaries often given in “lønnstrinn” = salary level) – Ex. Nurse: ltr = € 2500 – 2700/HUF per month (+ evening/night duty ca 10-15%)  Private sector: – Craftsmen - €/h / HUF/h – Unskilled workers/assistants - €/h / HUF/h – Overtime, extra pay for ex. night/weekend/holidays etc.

NAV, Side 14 Thank you for your attention!