– I think our device can do a great job, but I also think parents can be closer to their young people, says Minister for Employment and Inclusion, Tonje Brenna (Ap). The proportion of young adults who are neither in work nor in education is increasing. More than 111,000 people between the ages of 20 and 29 were completely outside of both education and working life at the end of 2023. This is 16 per cent of this group. This is shown by new figures from Nav. – This is not a finger pointing at the parents, but a reminder that we are important role models for our children, even when they get a little older, Brenna told news. The first time outsiders increase The increase in 2023 is the first time the share of outsiders among people in their 20s has increased since Nav started measuring. Director of Labor and Welfare Hans Christian Holte points in particular to mental illness as an adult problem among young people. – It is something that we and employers in Norway have to work hard to turn around. More than ever, we need the workforce that young people can offer. We know that there are many in this group who both can and want to work, and we must ensure that they get the opportunity, he says. Brenna shares Holte’s concern. – Too many people are outside the working world, and this has been the case over time. We have to manage to do something about that. It is negative for the individual and negative for the country. That is why I am concerned that we get more people into work and fewer people on social security, she says. NAV director Hans Christian Holte. Photo: William Jobling / news Asking parents to take responsibility Brenna says that the government has introduced several measures to get young people into work, but that the apparatus may not go far enough. – My clear impression is that young people want to work and finish upper secondary school, but many need a little help to get started, she says and appeals to parents: – As parents, we have to motivate them to finish upper secondary school, to take a part-time job on the side school and, not least, start looking for a job if the pod is still living at home and has not started with it. Brenna points out that this is not a finger pointing at the parents. – But a reminder that we have important roles to play for our children, even when they have grown older. Tonje Brenna believes that more people need to go to work. Photo: NTB Believes outsiderness is inherited Simen Markussen is an economist and head of the Frisch Center at the University of Oslo. He says extroversion is often inherited, and that the problems can start as early as adolescence. – Increasingly, it is the case that the outsider is concentrated on people who have grown up in the poorest homes with parents who also do not have a strong attachment to the labor market, he explains. Read also: Putting forward measures Brenna says the government has put forward several measures to reduce alienation among young people and that more measures are on the way. NAV director Holte also says they are trying to change so that more people can get into work. – We try to be present in the workplace for longer, look at what measures we can contribute with, so that people really get into working life and then stay there. It is a change from the past, where we perhaps worked more internally in Nav, and then people let go on to working life and wished them luck. Published 08/08/2024, at 10.57 Updated 08.08.2024, at 11.17
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Brenna asks parents to take action to get young people into work – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
