– As a student at Nammo, you will be placed in many exciting departments. In a recruitment video made by the arms manufacturer, they try to attract young people to their company school which they have set up in Raufoss where they have their headquarters. – An internship at Nammo is the entrance ticket to many exciting professions, says the arms and ammunition manufacturer in the video. Dagbladet was one of the first to shed light on the fact that weapons produced by Nammo have ended up in Israel. Recently, news wrote that Israel may get more Nammo-produced weapons, which are now being investigated for genocide in the ongoing war in Gaza. Now news can tell that several upper secondary schools in the interior have a collaboration with Nammo, which makes it possible for vocational students to be apprentices with the weapons manufacturer. Nammo: – Proud of our apprentices Nammo is a cornerstone company at Raufoss, where they have more than 900 employees. They are also registered as a so-called learning company. In order for a business to be able to employ apprentices, the company must be approved as an apprenticeship company by the county municipality the upper secondary school is located in. According to Utdanning.no, Nammo AS is approved as a training company, and is permitted to have up to 34 apprentices. Today, there are around 24 apprentices at the arms manufacturer who are usually vocational students at upper secondary schools, according to Utdanning.no. – The scheme with apprentices is one of several important for our recruitment and staffing, says Korsvold about the scheme which makes it possible for 16-year-olds to work for the arms manufacturer. Photo: Nammo – We are very proud of all the apprentices who work at Nammo. That’s what Thorstein Korsvold, director of information at Nammo, says. – They do important work with us, he says about the apprentices they have with them. SV: – It is not ethically correct for children to stand and produce weapons, says Grete Wold, member of the education and research committee at the Storting. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news SV: – This is not right – We naturally react strongly to the fact that 16-year-olds who are actually children are helping to produce weapons. This is not okay. This is according to Storting representative for SV Grete Wold, who is also a member of the education and research committee at the Storting. She says it is extra worrying that children work for the weapons manufacturer, when several experts believe they see weapons produced by Nammo with Israeli forces. – Nammo has a special responsibility to ensure that these children are not put to the production of weapons, says the representative for SV, and adds: – It is not ethically correct for children to stand and produce weapons. Thorstein Korsvold, director of information at Nammo, does not agree that it is wrong for young people to work in arms production. – SV says that it is not morally right for children to work for a weapons manufacturer. What do you think about it? RIGHT: Jønnes believes that it is right and important that Nammo has apprentices with it in order to meet the skills needs of the future. – What they do with us contributes to defence, security and democracy for Norway and the Nordic countries, and vital help for Ukraine. I can’t think of a more important and morally right task, says Korsvold. He is supported by Kari-Anne Jønnes from the Conservative Party, who is also a member of the Storting’s education and research committee. – Companies like Nammo are high-tech production companies with a great need for skilled expertise. The fact that they have apprentices is right and important to cover the future’s skills needs, she tells news. – Attractive competence Tron Bamrud, county council director in Innlandet, confirms to news that the students help produce weapons and ammunition. He goes on to say that they are deployed at the arms manufacturer to learn what the company is working on. UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED: – I understand that some may be concerned about Norwegian students working for Nammo. At the same time, it is the case that they produce something that Norway and the West have a great need for, says Tron Bamrud, county council director in the interior. Photo: Samuel andersen – The students must develop an attractive competence that is needed, then they must learn what they are doing in the company. – Do you understand that people are worried about Norwegian students producing weapons and ammunition? – I understand that some may be concerned about that. At the same time, it is the case that Nammo is a business that produces something that Norway and the West have a great need for, he says. – But is it ethically correct for children to produce weapons? – This is a completely legal production that is carried out at Nammo. It is an important social task that Nammo actually does with its production, says the county director. In January, the government set aside billions to strengthen the defense industry. One billion will go to Nammo. Photo: Petter Berntsen / AFP There may be more students In January, it became known that the government is allocating billions of dollars to the Norwegian defense industry, including NOK one billion to increase the production of artillery ammunition at Nammo in Raufoss. – The war in Ukraine has created a situation where there is a need for large quantities of ammunition, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre when he visited Nammo at Raufoss at the start of the year. Bamrud tells news that the increased demand for ammunition makes it relevant to involve more students from the upper secondary schools. – With the changed risk situation in the world and the prioritization of ammunition production, it will probably be relevant to have more students with us, he concludes. NOT ILLEGAL: The Minister of Education says that Nammo is an approved apprenticeship company and that there is nothing to prevent apprentices from producing legal goods that Norway needs. Photo: William Jobling / news The Minister of Education: – The student has chosen it himself – Nammo and its apprentices are important for access to apprenticeships locally and throughout the region, says Minister of Education Kari Nessa Nordtun to news in an e-mail. – Do you understand those who believe that it is worrying that Norwegian children work for an arms manufacturer? – Everyone who is an apprentice at Nammo is a young person who is approaching or is over 18 years of age. They have also chosen to apply for an apprenticeship there themselves, says the Minister of Education. She says that the defense industry is important for Norway, and that the government is clear that Norway needs more, not fewer, jobs in the industry going forward in the security policy situation Europe now finds itself in.
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Norwegian students help produce weapons – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
