Meeting with delegates from Düsseldorf, 13.03.2017 Tore Bruem Department of Education Ich wünsche Ihnen herzlich wilkommen in Norwegen! My name is Tore Bruem, and it is my pleasure to bid you welcome to our county. Two years ago, it was Christoph who bid us welcome to Düsseldorf. Thank you again for hosting our stay in Germany. I think that your programme for this visit will be very interesting. The challenges with refugees in Europe are common for many countries, and working together and learning from each other is important. This is a step towards suceeding in developing every refugee’s potential in learning and working situations. Angelika and Hege will guide you through the programme in a few moments. But first, I would like to give you a short introduction to North-Trøndelag county:

Nord-Trøndelag 135000 inhabitants 22396 square kilometres 23 municipalities 7000 in upper secondary education 11 upper secondary schools Here are a few facts about our county. As you can see, the number of inhabitants is 135000. This is a small number in comparison to where you come from, I imagine. We have plenty of room (square kilometres) in our county, and our 11 upper secondary schools are spread throughout the county. The student number in our schools varies from 100 students to 1100 students. Later today, you will get information about the number of refugees applying for and attending upper secondary education in North-Trøndelag.

The Norwegian School System Mandatory primary and lower secondary education. A right to attend upper secondary education. Students have to apply for a place. 13 different educational programmes. A few key words about the Norwegian school system. Notice that in Norway our youth have a right to attend upper secondary education. Primary school consists of 1. to 7. grade in Norway. Then all the students go on to a common lower secondary school (8. – 10. grade). There is no choice for the students in what kind of school they would like to attend. They are all basically the same – with the same subjects. Lower secondary school has been criticised for beeing very theoretical and not adjusted to the needs or preferences of students who are interested in more practical subjects. Primary and lower secondary education – is the responsibility of the municipalities. Upper secondary education – the responsibility lies with us – county level.

This picture gives a quick overview of our system for upper secondary education. We have different programmes for general studies – providing a general university admissions certification, and we have vocational training. There are challenges related to that many refugee students choose theoretical general studies rather than vocational studies – even though their oral and written skills are not sufficient to succeed in the theoretical subjects. For many – it would be better to choose vocational studies and participate in in-service training.