The industry lacks resources and the Confederation of Norwegian Employers (NHO), in collaboration with NAV, has taken the initiative to "lift the workforce".
A sea of opportunities in the Norwegian industry!
There is a battle for existing resources within the ISO disciplines (Insulation, Scaffolding and Surface) today and the continued low influx of new personnel will further intensify the battle for labor.
There is a need for increased focus on the opportunities in the ISO industry with the career opportunities that lie there, as well as ensuring that the expertise of the older part of the workforce is transferred to the younger generations.
The industry lacks resources and NHO has in collaboration with NAV taken the initiative for the "labour power lift".
This regional labour force boost will help to find solutions to increase the supply of labour, reduce sickness absence and keep more people in work for longer. Part of the solution may be to consider looking at how we can work smarter with productivity, working hours, technology, expertise and the working environment.
Goal of increased employment
A strengthened line of work (the Labour Market Report), the Government has set itself specific goals: The proportion of employed people in the age group 20-64 years will increase from the current 80.2 per cent, to 82 per cent in 2030, and 83 per cent in 2035.
Taking into account Statistics Norway's population projections from 2024, this goal implies that employment must increase by an extra 135,000 until 2030, and a further 48,000 more until 2035.
For the entire period 2025-35, employment must increase by 16,600 extra per year, and 1,380 per month.
Read more about this on NHO's website here:
Fewer young people outside
About 10 per cent of young people are neither in employment, education nor on labour market schemes. The share fluctuates with the business cycle, but has been fairly stable over the past ten years.
The labour supply from those under the age of 30 may increase if they complete their education earlier and/or fewer young people remain outside the labour force. The white paper on Long-term Perspectives on the Norwegian Economy estimates that employment can be increased by 15 500 man-years if young people complete their education one year earlier and by 10 700 man-years if they complete vocational programmes more early.
The challenge
Part of the challenge lies in the fact that there is generally too little knowledge of the industry and the subjects. Thus, there will be too few apprentices and too few who apply to our trades.
There is a limited training offer, school or course beyond what the individual company provides. Furthermore, it is a problem that any applicants have not gained experience. You must therefore look at the entire training program - as you do with an apprenticeship.
Two of our boys stood up for BA
Bergensavisen, BA, wanted to focus on this issue. They contacted us and wondered if we could put forward two candidates who fit into the theme: "The Labour Power Promise"
The angle was that there are many vacancies, but they are struggling to find enough suitable candidates, and that the industry generally lacks qualified personnel.
The journalist wanted to elucidate:
- What did the candidate do to become qualified for the job
- and how did the person find out about the position
- How does StS-ISONOR work to train new employees?
Cezar Surma and Daniel Nygård participated!
Cezar explained that he quit his finance job and started working as a specialized laborer with us. He says it’s not as scary as it looks, and that fear of heights can be overcome.
Cezar has no regrets about choosing this career path!
The CEO of StS-ISONOR was able to tell us that we have many employees who are over 60 and approaching retirement age. We need to replace these and it is urgent!
BA also had a chat in the rain with 20-year-old Marcus Haugland Kleppe. He has worked with us since he was 17. His goal is to get a vocational certificate.
She could tell us that we are short of industrial painters, insulators and scaffolders as well as personnel who perform industrial sewing. Furthermore, that we ideally want job seekers who have a trade certificate. We are lucky to have a fantastic course center and that we can provide the necessary expertise.
You can see BA's post here, but it's a subscription thing!:
Mye fri og god lønn- jakter 100 nye ansatte
Our experience and our thoughts on the way forward
We at StS-ISONOR have good experience with cooperation with NAV, through the AMO courses. More of these measures are needed!
Read a story NRK had on the topic back in 2019 with the headline: "Everyone got a job after three weeks of training":
Alle fikk jobb etter tre ukers kurs
The measures must include an understanding of the industry's needs and the challenges it faces. There should be more focus on local youth and job training.
We envision active work being done towards the large shipyards and customers. That more training opportunities and courses are set up that are covered by restructuring funds.
What about introductory courses?
We offer introductory courses in insulation, industrial painting and scaffolding, as well as support for
In-company training, with the goal of passing a professional exam in the subject.
At the shipyards, for example at Aker Stord, you can have your own "Trainee program".
We are thinking of package solutions for courses and experience, recruitment before courses.
Aging workforce
It is important that the older part of our workforce remains in employment for as long as possible. It is important to ensure that the competence they have and the long experience they have can benefit the younger generation.
One could imagine means for these people to provide training and act as sponsors.
Consequences if the trend is not reversed
For us as an employer:
- Challenges in fulfilling obligations in existing contracts
- Challenges in winning new contracts
- Challenges in developing in line with the needs of the industry
Challenges in developing in line with the needs of the industry
- The short-term consequence is that the industry is unable to carry out necessary maintenance.
- Lack of opportunity to further develop the expertise necessary for the green shift
- Dependence on hiring from foreign companies
- Dependence on international expertise when we do not build up our own expertise in Norway
Concrete examples of our experience
Scaffolder Cezar Surma stepped up for the first time in 2022 to share his experience.
Watch the video here:
Cezar Surma forteller om sin erfaring (2022)
Then we have an example of a young man with a completely different background than vocational training, check out this video of access technician Adrian Pedersen from 2022.
