The car industry and the NHO (Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise) feel that the county municipalities do not adapt the school supply to the needs of the business community, and call for more contact with the industries.
The Norwegian Motor Industry Association (NBF- Norges Bilbransjeforbund) in the NHO asks the county authorities to hear more about the needs of society when establishing school services, than what 15-year-olds want. Stig Morten Nilsen, the CEO of NBF, tells Dagens Næringsliv that the car industry could receive 300 more apprentices nationwide than the 2,400 already in the country’s 1,300 companies.
The task of the education system is to provide the professionals that the companies and society need. It is not possible to sit in isolation in the back room and plan the number of school places without contact with the companies or analyses of business needs, says Nilsen.
He points out that too much emphasis is placed on youth desire and less on the actual offer. While many people choose popular subjects where the need for labour is low, too few choose subjects related to industries and companies that struggle to get enough people. Figures from the newspaper from the Directorate of Education show that in the media and communication, only 43 % received apprenticeships. For building and construction, 84 % received apprenticeships.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
