For the driver of the restaurant Bark in Harstad, Nils Arthur Gjeitanger, the battle for the good minds has been fierce for many years. – It is extremely demanding to constantly work with minimal resources. It doesn’t require much just from me. It demands an insane amount from everyone around me, he says. – But at the same time you just have to bend your back and stick with it. I have no choice. I am trying to create a reasonable and good workplace. The restaurant is his life’s work. His pride. Here, Gjeitanger spends at least six months training a waiter to gain the knowledge needed about food and drink. Then it is important to also keep them. – We have struggled with not having full staffing. We haven’t had enough waiters and cooks to fill the rosters. The turnover has been accordingly. Because we have had to say no to guests, says Gjeitanger. At Bark in Harstad, they have secured staffing for over the summer, but general manager Nils Arthur Gjeitanger knows that there will already be a new hunt for employees in the autumn. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news Large skills gap In Northern Norway, the business world is doing well, and there is great optimism. Nevertheless, the companies are struggling to get the expertise they need. In NHO’s competence barometer, 75 per cent of companies in Troms and Finnmark state that they have an unmet competence need to a great extent or to some extent. It is the most in the country: – It is a development we have seen over time that is going in the wrong direction. It is very demanding, says Sigrid Ina Simonsen, regional director of NHO Arctic. The lack of people in, among other things, restaurant and food professions, service and tourism is great. In addition, the pandemic has been very inconvenient for many. – We know that some companies now simply cannot grow and develop as much as they have the opportunity to do, says Simonsen. Regional director of NHO Arctic Sigrid Ina Simonsen says Troms and Finnmark are in a demanding situation. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news Frp: “Old home” Before the war in Ukraine, the population of Northern Norway was rapidly declining. Between 2020 and 2021 alone, the population in Northern Norway shrank by over 3,000. The trend reversed when the refugees arrived, but the exodus continues. The expertise is at full speed on its way out of Northern Norway. FrP’s Kristian Eilertsen is open to a lower tax burden for Northern Norway. Photo: Dan Henrik Klausen / news – It is critical that we now get hold of more competent hands and heads in Northern Norway, so that business can grow and develop further, says the Progress Party’s first candidate for the county council in Troms, Kristian Eilertsen. He fears Northern Norway is on its way to becoming an “old home” and a “region for commuters”. – I base that fear on the fact that we see that more people are moving out of Northern Norway, for example to take higher education, but not enough are moving back. Nor are there enough people from other parts of the country who want to move into Northern Norway and establish themselves here, he says. It has consequences. – The result is that you get companies and others who commute to Northern Norway to solve tasks and needs that are in the region, and then you have people living in old people’s homes and care institutions. We do not want Northern Norway, which is the land of opportunities, to become either an old people’s home or a museum. We want viable communities, says Eilertsen. There is a lot of development activity in Harstad. Among other things outside Bark. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news – Must think again Irene Lange Nordahl is the Center Party’s first candidate for the county council. A center party which for the past four years has been in a position together with the Labor Party. She believes the time has now come to think again. Irene Lange Nordahl (Sp) believes that new ideas are needed. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news – The development has taken place over time. Many measures have been taken. What is now important, in terms of demographic development, is to both keep those who live here and ensure that more of the young people want to be here, she says. Reverse job interview Kongsberg satellite services (KSAT), which despite its name is based in Tromsø, is a world-leading provider of satellite data reception. They too fight a fierce battle for the good and right minds. – There are fewer applicants. There are fewer qualified applicants. If we are in a position vis-à-vis potential candidates, we see that they are in very good jobs with very high salaries, which means that we struggle to be able to compete, says Magnar Slåtto. He is head of the business support department at KSAT, and is responsible for the employees. He believes that companies have a great responsibility to be attractive to employees. KSAT’s antennas tower over the Tromsø countryside. The job seeker sets strict requirements for the company to be sustainable. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news It is an employee’s market. Not just in northern Norway, but in the whole country, but in the north the battle for heads is extra fierce. And the employees who consider choosing KSAT have strict requirements. – Today’s job seekers interview us to the same extent as we interview them. They are very interested in the green shift and what we are doing for the environment. And not least that we have a conscious relationship with sustainability. Then it pays to have an answer. – You get undressed very quickly if you just put on a foil and think you’re going to get away with a few numbers. We have to argue and explain quite thoroughly what the company does. In modern premises, Nils Arthur Gjeitanger believes that the key lies in taking care of people over time. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news – Must be the best Nils Arthur Gjeitanger at Bark in Harstad is also aware that the business world itself has a responsibility to be attractive. He himself believes that he has taken precisely that responsibility. A short time ago, Bark moved into brand new premises by the quay in Harstad. There is plenty of space here, and a view of the sea and the mountains. Until recently, the restaurant was located in a cramped room in an old wooden house from the 19th century. – If you want to have the wisest minds, you have to be the best, says Gjeitanger. He says the move was primarily about taking care of the employees. – I have worked in the industry for over 40 years. This is probably the best venue I have worked in. It cost a few extra kroner, but it is arranged the way we want it to be. We have thought about wear and tear on arms and shoulders. We have thought about air quality and floors. That we get softer floors rather than hard ones, so that we take care of our backs, says Gjeitanger. Harstad is Northern Norway’s third largest city. Photo: Eirik Hind Sveen / news Lower taxes? But at the same time, people must want to live in a part of the country with cold and winters that are as long as the distances, both within Northern Norway and to the rest of the world. How do you stop the eviction and get people to move instead? Is there a solution in luring people with money – for example, lower taxes? – We believe that we have to look at it, says Irene Lange Nordahl (Sp). – We believe that we must look again at incentives for increased settlement in the north. Then it’s about turning over all stones and looking at the possibility. The business world has great speed and needs more hands and heads. We must ensure that we invest both in those who live here, but we need even more than that, she says. FrP’s Kristian Eilertsen is also open to a lower tax in the north. – I think every FrP member is open to a lower tax burden. Whether it is in northern Norway or other places, but it is perhaps particularly relevant in northern Norway because of the challenges in getting hold of people.
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The exodus from northern Norway continues. The companies are struggling to get hold of the right expertise – news Troms and Finnmark
