At the end of last year, 74 per cent of the applicants had obtained approved apprentice contracts. This is the highest proportion recorded since the measurements started in 2011.
During the year, there was an increase in both the number of applicants and in the number who were granted apprenticeship at Norwegian companies. On a nationwide basis, there were over 29,200 applicants, and 21,706 of them were given the opportunity to receive training and practice in their chosen trade.
- Pupils, teachers, county municipalities and businesses throughout the country have made good progress. Aust-Agder, Telemark and Sogn og Fjordane have increased places by more than 10 percentage points compared to 2015, and Troms, Finnmark, Nordland and Hedmark have also seen a large increase. This shows that both companies and the public sector take responsibility, says Minister of Knowledge and Integration Jan Tore Sanner (H).
The figures show, however, that there are large differences – both geographically and between different subjects – in the proportion of those who received apprenticeship. Among other things, there is a 19 percentage point difference between Østfold, where the share was lowest, and Rogaland, where the share was highest.
Growth is greatest within natural resources and construction and construction technology. In the latter, 85 per cent of the applicants received apprenticeship contracts in 2018. In comparison, only 69 per cent of the applicants received the same in the field of health and adolescence services, which is also the subject with the most applicants for apprenticeship.
The lowest proportion is in the media and communication, where only 43 per cent of the applicants were granted an apprenticeship.
- We may be missing out on 70,000 skilled workers by 2035. I however hope the other industries will look to the construction and building industry and join the apprentice premise, says Sanner.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
