– We force old people to work, while young people escape. So says Mímir Kristjánsson, Storting politician for Rødt. He believes young people must toughen up, and stop all the “luring” before they start working, he said in news’s Political Quarter today. The population in Norway is getting older, and the need for labor will be great in the coming years. According to the Government’s perspective report, which was presented on Friday, Norway will need at least 150,000 more people in work by 2030. If we are to achieve that, we can start with the young and healthy, believes the Redt politician. – Young people spend years looking around before they are able to make up their minds. Adulthood is being postponed more and more. Young people take a gap year and sail around the world, or they start one subject before changing their mind and jumping on to another. Altogether, there are many lost man-years here, believes Kristjánsson. Long stays Universities and colleges start on Monday after the holidays. Many of the students who left upper secondary school this spring are starting sponsor week today. But far from everyone has found work or education. Every fifth student has had a stay of at least two years before starting their studies, according to this year’s State of Higher Education Report. Norwegian students are also, on average, far older than students in countries with which we tend to compare ourselves. Kristjánsson admits that he himself took time to “look around” before finally deciding what he wanted to do. He himself interrupted his studies in social economics at the University of Oslo to become an activist and youth politician. Norwegian workforce and students In the coming years, Norway will have a major shortage of labour, and towards 2030 we will need around 150,000 more people in work, according to the Government’s perspective report. 111,500 adults between the ages of 20 and 29 are neither in work nor in education. Of these, around 50 per cent are social security recipients, while the same number receive no social security. Every fifth student had a stay of at least two years before starting their studies. Serving compulsory military service, taking up subjects from upper secondary school, going to folk college or taking paid work are common reasons why many people wait to study. 30 per cent of Norwegian students are 30 years or older. The government will change the admission rules for higher education (Meld. St. 20 (2023 – 2024)) with the aim of getting people started with higher education more quickly. Age points and most other additional points are taken away. Source: Status report for higher education, 2024. NAV. Will introduce mandatory years When he now asks young people to sharpen up, he is prepared for accusations that he, as an adult representative of the Storting, is pulling up the ladder after himself. Through a compulsory year, young people can gain experience in areas they may not have to work with later, says the Rødt politician. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / news – I see it, but now we spend a lot of time and effort getting 55-year-olds to work themselves out, preferably in health subjects. It is not unreasonable that those who are young and healthy should rather take that burden. – If you are a young plumber, it is better that you start working a year earlier than that we force you to continue when you are 67, he says. Kristjánsson supports the proposal to introduce a compulsory year for young people after upper secondary school. The intention is that young people contribute to the community either through military service, or through some form of community service, for example in the field of elderly care. – We in Rødt thought it was wrong to end the civil service for those who were not going to join the military, says Kristjánsson. He believes that young people through a compulsory year will gain useful experience, even if it may be from an area they will not work with later. Provoked The newly elected leader of the Norwegian Student Organization, Kaia Ingdal Hovdenak, is provoked by Kristjánsson’s actions, and claims he is talking down higher education. – What he calls loking around before and during the education are experiences and knowledge that are important to take with you later in life. The leader of the Norwegian student organization, Kaia Ingdal Hovdenak, is provoked by Kristjánsson’s actions. Photo: Ola Hana / news Hovdenak believes the Rødt politician is talking down knowledge and is actually advocating for a student factory, where the most important thing is to get students in and out as quickly as possible. She points out that Norwegian students have had their purchasing power reduced by 20 per cent in 20 years. Therefore, they have to work alongside their studies, which leads to them finishing their studies later. Agreeing with Kristjánsson Simen Velle, leader of the Youth Progress Party, believes that Mímir Kristjánsson is absolutely right that Norwegian youth should sharpen up. – Norwegian youth are lazy. We have children later and later. We study longer and longer. People take their sick days, fewer people want to work overtime and we have the world’s most generous sick pay. The FpU leader believes that the State’s loan fund should set stricter requirements for student aid. The government’s expenditure should go to the areas where the government needs more, for example to skilled workers and engineering. Simen Velle (FpU) agrees that Norwegian young people must enter work earlier, but calls the proposal for compulsory years “authoritarian”. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB – It is not the state’s task to support Norwegian youth who want to go to Bali to get PT training or to Western Norway to learn to surf. – We see that many people never get a job within what they have studied. We can’t give scholarships to courses we know won’t lead to anything, says Velle. Although Simen Velle and Mímir Kristjánsson wholeheartedly agree that Norwegian young people should start working earlier, the FpU leader says no to the idea of a compulsory year for all 19-year-olds. – He wants to use coercion, I don’t want that. You can’t just say that everyone should be in the Armed Forces or in community service. You don’t own the 19th year of everyone’s life. It is authoritarian. Published 12.08.2024, at 10.25
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Rødt politician Mímir Kristjánsson believes young people need to toughen up – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
