– I have never liked sitting still. Michael Kirknes is standing in the ditch with a vacuum hose in his hands. Today, he removes soil and stones from thick cables in the ground, which supply large parts of Tromsø with electricity and internet. He has previously tried his hand in a shop and as a telephone salesman, but it was not for him. Now he has been given the chance in the construction industry, and receives support from Nav to take the truck license. – That means everything. I’ve been struggling a bit mentally, but it really helps to have a job to go to. Michael is clear that the community at work means an enormous amount to him, but in Norway there are many young people who are outside this community. Michael cleans around power and fiber cables, together with general manager of Vacumkjempen Nord-Norge AS, Stian Kristiansen. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news In Troms and Finnmark alone, almost 3,000 between the ages of 15 and 29 are outside work, education and labor market measures, the latest figures from Statistics Norway show. On a national basis, around 100,000 are in the same situation. In 2020, the government estimated that each individual costs society NOK 15 million. What it costs each individual is more difficult to measure. A faster way into working life – It’s dramatic. Both for us as a society, because there are large costs associated with this. But primarily for those who remain on the outside. This is what the Minister for Employment and Inclusion, Tonje Brenna (Ap), says. She warns that the government will make a new notification to the Storting after the summer, which she hopes will help catch more of those who are outside. – If you end up outside when you are young, you face many years outside of working life. You are outside the community that provides a job to go to, colleagues, salary on account and everything that goes with it. The Minister for Employment and Inclusion, Tonje Brenna (Ap), thinks it is dramatic that so many young people are left out. Photo: William Jobling / news In Troms, Nav and the Maskinentreprenørenes Forbund (MEF) are already starting a pilot project, which will help those who do not find themselves at school or struggle to get a job for other reasons. The “Anleggsløftet” should be a faster route into working life, where young people can enter into direct contracts with several companies in the county and find one that suits them – without any requirements for competence, education or work experience. Two of the companies involved in the project are Maskinentreprenør Stig Kristiansen AS and sister company Vacumkjempen Nord-Norge AS in Tromsø. According to founder Stig Kristiansen, it is not new for the industry to recruit people from the “street”. But he is happy that they now have a closer collaboration with Nav. – I think the most important thing we contribute to is giving them a sense of mastery and a sense of fitting in, so that they are eventually able to stand on their own two feet in working life, he says. – It also means, of course, that we get the workforce we need, when we find the right candidate. Stig Kristiansen is positive about giving more young people a chance in the company Photo: Trygve Grønning / news I think they will lose many good people along the way But there is one thing that Kristiansen sees as a brake on the system: too many formal requirements for competence and education. – In order to get more people to fit into working life and society, we must first recognize that we are different. Now I feel that the education system is designed for academics by those who have succeeded as academics, he says. – Then I think we will lose a lot of people on the road who are good workers, because they do not fit into an increasingly complicated educational course. Brenna believes that there must be formal requirements to be qualified to work on, for example, facilities, but is positive about the initiative in Troms and other similar projects. – Being allowed to both grow a little older and a little wiser while working with colleagues, I think that is absolutely right, she says. – So we have to manage both to make the school more practical and varied, but also to give those who may not feel so comfortable at school the opportunity to complete and formalize their skills through, for example, being more in business. But many young people who have fallen out of favor also need help for more than getting a job. The “Uttaførr” project in Tromsø aims to reach even more young people who need a place where they feel safe. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news A safe place In Tromsø, Utekontakten, which works with young people who are having a hard time, has launched a new project they call “Uttaførr”. It is a low threshold for young people who need a place to belong. They just received NOK 500,000 in support from the State Administrator, and are collaborating with Nav in Tromsø. – Some people only use us for minor things in life, while for others we are almost like a family replacement. It is very different from youth to youth, because everyone has a different starting point. That’s what Tone Bakke, head of Utekontakten, says. She estimates that each year they are in contact with over 200 young people. – Some simply say that the offer has saved their lives. Head of Utekontakten, Tone Bakke, says the young people they are in contact with need help with many different things. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news One of those who have received good help through Utekontakten is Marice Viktoria Johannessen. She had a hard time at school in the neighboring municipality of Lyngen, and struggled to form networks and fit into society when she moved to Tromsø. – I don’t really know where I would have been if I hadn’t come into contact with Utekontakten, she says. Marice Viktoria Johannessen wants to help other young people who are having a hard time. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news She has always felt that Utekontakten was a safe place for her. A place where she could be herself and feel seen. Today, she has got a job as a bus driver in Tromsø, and thinks life is on the right course. Now she also has a desire to give something back, and has herself become involved in the project Uttaförr. – I want to help more young people who struggle with being outsiders, and maybe make them see that there is hope. You can have it very well already in your 20s, even if you haven’t had as easy an upbringing as everyone else, says Johannessen. – We have to do things differently Norway is among the countries in the world with the most efficient working life, according to Ilostat. This may mean that the threshold for entering working life, for those who have fallen outside, is higher. – The problem with that efficiency is that on the back of the medal, there is a large outsiderness, which has also grown through these years where efficiency has grown, says county director for Nav Troms and Finnmark, Kristin Røymo. – In my opinion, we have not quite managed to find solutions for what to do with it. But I believe that we have to take some measures to make the door higher and the gate further. County director for Nav Troms and Finnmark, Kristin Røymo, is aware that you have to think differently to get more young people into work. Photo: Ann-Kristin Hanssen / news Røymo believes that both employers and the authorities need to be a little self-examining, because there are many resources in those who have fallen outside. – We not only have room for them, but we also need them. But we will have to do some things differently in the coming years, she says. The Minister for Employment and Inclusion is also aware that they must think differently in the coming years. – We have to ensure that the companies feel that there is a low enough risk that they are willing to employ people who may not have 100 per cent productivity every single day, but who still have the opportunity to contribute something, says Brenna. New tasks At Vacumkjempen Nord-Norge AS, no one complains about Michael’s efficiency. When he has finished his day’s work in Tromsø, the tour moves on to new tasks on Melkøya in Hammerfest. – The job is very varied. Extremely varied, and I love that, he says. But the school bench was not a place for Michael, and he eventually dropped out. He has now been at work for five months, and is enjoying himself. – I probably wouldn’t have had such a good view of everyday life if it hadn’t been for work. Michael Kirknes has plenty to do at work. He appreciates that. Photo: Trygve Grønning / news Published 24.06.2024, at 15.18
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100,000 young people are outside work, education and labor market initiatives – news Troms and Finnmark
