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

Norway – the country ”up north”

Some facts and figures… Statistics: Length 1750 km 7th largest in Europe 4,8 mill. inhabitants 19 Counties Largest cities: Oslo (522 000) Bergen (237 000) Trondheim (154 000) Stavanger (112 000)

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

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)

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)

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

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 (former employer + phone numbers) Photos not required 1-2 pages maximum Use Living & Working in Norway (last page)

Jobseeking II Find jobs at: www.eures.europa.eu (Choose Norway) www.nav.no (Choose English) www.eures.no (NAV EURES in English) Call for jobs at: NAV Service Centre Phone Phone: +47 800 33 166 Opening hours: Monday – Friday 08:00 – 18:00 Contact the EURES Adviser in your area

Jobseeking III Yellow pages - www.gulesider.no (English version) Companies’ web sites Use Google, Yahoo etc. Contact employers directly Use your personal network 60/70% of the jobs are NOT advertised

www.nav.no – jobs, social security and more….

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) www.arbeidstilsynet.no (Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority)

Wages No national minimum wages: Unskilled labour 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

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: 810 33 810 (Information in English, Polish and some other languages) www.nav.no

Useful websites II Recognition of qualifications<. www.nokut.no (vocational and higher education) www.safh.no (authorization of health personnel)

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

Questions? eures@nav.no

Velkommen til Norge! Bodil Broch-Austvoll EURES adviser www.eures.no Bodil.broch-austvoll@nav.no (+47) 922 05 651