LIVING & WORKING IN NORWAY EURES adviser Gry Kristin Vist LIVING & WORKING IN NORWAY

NAV EURES The Norwegian Labour & Welfare Organisation EURES – EURopean Employment Services Information about labour market, living and working abroad www.nav.no www.eures.no www.eures.europa.eu

Geography Length 1 750 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 (522 000) Bergen (237 000) Trondheim (154 000) Stavanger (112 000) Climate – from – 30 C to + 30C

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

Labour Market I Unemployment: ca 1,9 % average (September 2008) Vacancies 33.000 ”Education and special skills is the best guarantee to stay in, or make an easy entry into, the labour market”

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

Transitional rules for NY EU10 Special rules for residence permits for citizens from EEA countries that entered the EU after 01 May 2004 Changed 010107 – 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)

Jobseeking I Make a Curriculum Vitae (CV) in English Personalia (name, address, phone, e-mail etc.) Education (describe shortly) Work Experience (describe shortly) Courses Language skills Interests References (name of former employer + phone numbers)

Jobseeking II www.nav.no www.eures.no www.eures.europa.eu NAV Service Centre Phone +47 800 33 166 Monday – Friday 08:00 – 18:00 Contact the EURES Adviser in your area

Jobseeking III 60-70% of the jobs are not advertised Use www.gulesider.no (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

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)

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. 23-32 = € 2500 – 2700/HUF 590.000- 640.000 per month (+ evening/night duty ca 10-15%) Private sector: Craftsmen - €/h 13-20 / 3080 - 4750 HUF/h Unskilled workers/assistants - €/h 12-15 / 2850- 3560 HUF/h Overtime, extra pay for ex. night/weekend/holidays etc.

Thank you for your attention!