Agreement on fast track for refugees jobs

Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Anniken Hauglie ( Conservative Party )OSLO.Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Anniken Hauglie ( Conservative Party ).Photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix

The Government and their business partners are announcing a collaborative effort for getting more refugees quickly into work.

A collaborative statement to that effect was signed on Tuesday.
The so-called ‘fast track’ program builds on existing schemes.
‘Fast track’ was featured in the integration bill and is now being put into action:
Refugees’ expertise will be mapped thoroughly in reception centers so that Nav and various municipalities will  know what expertise they have got. Nav and the municipalites will then be responsible for the selection of candidates for the fast track program.
Immediately after a refugee has been settled,  Nav and a municipality will prepare an individual plan for follow-up. The induction program does not have to last for two years for everyone.

Wage subsidies  
– Today we have undertaken  joint responsibility for establishing a fast track program into employment for the refugees who have the greatest chance of finding work. The authorities provide the instruments and the parties shall actively contribute to finding placements, says the Work and Social Affairs minister, Anniken Hauglie .
Wage subsidies and monitoring schemes such as mentoring support in the workplace will be used, but the parties have agreed that wage subsidies should be limited to one year only.
– It is important for a successful integration that the refugees find work quickly . We’ve got a mission, and we will cooperate well with the business partners and local authorities on this, says Nav director Sigrun Vågeng.

Get the job
– It is not an  option to lower our ambitions to get certain groups into jobs, even though we are experiencing tough times in the jobs market right now. We must therefore use our instruments effectively and we must facilitate the creation of jobs, says Hauglie.
Today, only half of the refugees who have taken part in the introductory program have a  job five years after the program has ended, according to Statistics Norway.
Work and Social Affairs minister Anniken Hauglie believes the mapping of the individual refugee’s competence already during the reception phase will get more refugees into work quickly.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today