– It is a measure that is good right then and there, but I don’t think it has an effect in getting people to stay in the long term, says nurse Sigurd Andreas Larsen from Sætre in Asker. A migration crisis Finnmark is crying out for people and labour. Since 1990, Nord-Troms and Finnmark have been their own action zone, with a view to securing recruitment and housing. Vista analysis has been commissioned by the Ministry of Local Government and Districts to evaluate measures such as half tax, exemption from employer’s tax and write-down of student loans. The conclusion of the report is that these no longer have the desired effect. County mayors in Troms and Finnmark, Tarjei Bech Jensen, have after the report thrown out a proposal for an extra holiday week for people in the north. A bait that nurse Larsen from Asker does not immediately think will work. – I think measures such as higher wages can have a greater effect, he says. – Absolutely wonderful here Larsen says that the dream for him and his roommate has always been to experience Finnmark for a shorter period of their lives. With this as a driving force, plus the advantages of the action zone in Nord-Troms and Finnmark, the step was easy to take. – Half the tax was what tipped the scales for us, says Larsen, who is delighted. Sigurd Andreas Larsen loves living in Finnmark. He believes that all the advantages of living here are too little known to people from the south. Photo: Private – It’s absolutely wonderful here, he says. And Northern Norway needs more people like him. Low unemployment means that the competition for wise heads, handy workers and warm hands is razor sharp throughout the country. One of the municipalities that notices this is Hammerfest. Councilor Leif Vidar Olsen says that for a period they lacked 32 nurses. – Now the situation is somewhat better, but we still lack a lot of nurses to get this going, says Olsen. He believes that the sum of Northern Norway’s measures are good, but something people may not have counted on enough. Councilor in Hammerfest, Leif Vidar Olsen, welcomes all good advice to get people to Hammerfest and Finnmark. Photo: Allan Klo / news Want more debt cancellation Today, borrowers who have been living and working in the action zone in Finnmark and Nord-Troms for 12 months can have 10 percent of their debt canceled annually, but a maximum of NOK 25,000. The government proposes in its proposal for the state budget to increase the percentage that can be deleted from 10 to 20 per cent, and that the maximum amount be increased to NOK 30,000. The government also proposes to continue the scheme of canceling debts for qualified teachers who work in primary schools in the measure zone. The scheme means that an extra amount of up to NOK 20,000 can be written off from the debt each year. When it comes to writing down student loans, the councilor in Hammerfest believes that this has been a hit-and-miss measure, which he believes should be expanded. But leisure has also become more important to people, he points out. – That’s why I think an extra holiday week can have something to do with it, he says. Inger Johanne Kristensen is head of department at Alta care centre. She is not as positive about an extra week of holiday for employees. – We already have demanding rotations to stack. Not least in the summer. So this can mean challenges for us, says Kristensen. Inger Johanne Kristensen is business manager at Alta care center. She believes that it is difficult enough to solve the rotation, if a sixth holiday week is not to come into the picture. Photo: Hanne Larsen / news Katrine Fugelli at Kreativ industri in Alta works to recruit employees for the private and public sector. She is also skeptical about the effect of more holidays. – For us who live here, it would probably be an extra good thing, but whether that is what determines whether a newly graduated doctor from Oslo moves north, I doubt it, says Fugelli. Katrine Fugelli at Kreativ industri in Alta believes that it will take more than an extra holiday week to have a stable workforce in the north. Photo: Andreas Markussen / Kreativ industri She also believes that an extra holiday week means challenges for employers. She believes that instead of more holidays, the measures that already exist should be strengthened. – Perhaps we could have a type of Finnmark package, with even better tax benefits, as we have in Svalbard, she says. – Do you think that special measures can give the wrong signal, by implication that it is so bad here that we have to pay people to live here? – No, but I think it is important to see the possibilities that lie here. Both in relation to the fact that there are the most exciting positions to apply for and that we have a rich cultural life and lots of beautiful nature, she says. Fugelli also believes that it will be easier to climb the career ladder in the north than in pressured areas such as Oslo and Stavanger. Sigurd Andreas Larsen has long dreamed of spending a few years in Finnmark. Now he is living out the dream. Photo: Private Too little known Larsen from Asker says that the advantages in the north are still unknown to many. – Many people are surprised. Most people don’t know about anything other than the write-down of student loans, he says. The nurse believes it is a huge plus that Nord-Troms and Finnmark have introduced benefits that make it more attractive to live in the north. But he thinks the packaging needs renewal. – All measures in sum, including an extra holiday week, are very positive. But the whole package must be rebuilt and presented better, not least for young people, he says.
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I think the advantages of living in Finnmark are too poorly marketed – news Troms and Finnmark
