Living and working in norway, eojd canarias nov 2014

1. Living and Working in Norway
Nils-Erik Bjørholt/Innovation Norway
Johan Wildhagen/Innovation Norway
Erik Jørgensen/Innovation Norway
NAV EURES Norway,
Marinella van Welsenes
Sandrine Beaudoin

3. 18-11: de 12.00 a 14.00
19-11: de 10.00 a 12.00

4. Norway - ”the way to the North”

5. Geography
• Population : about 5,1
millions
• Capital: Oslo
• 19 counties
• Biggest cities:
Bergen 272 000
Trondheim 182 000
Stavanger 130 000
Kristiansand 86 000
Oslo 634 000

6. Norway
• Currency: Norwegian kroner, NOK
• Constitutional monarchy, King Harald V
• Prime Minister; since October 2013,
Erna Solberg
• Conservative Party/Coalition government

7. Characteristics
• A Northern climate, milder along
the south and west coast.
• Bright summers/dark winters
• Natural variety
• Outdoor culture
• High standard of living
• Extensive welfare system
• Safe working conditions
• Norwegians are reserved people

8. Language
• Most Norwegians speak English…..
- But most of the employers require that you speak Norwegian, or a
Scandinavian language (Swedish or Danish)
• Norwegian courses held in most municipalities in Norway (payable).
• Two official forms of Norwegian:
– Standard Norwegian (bokmål)
– New Norwegian (nynorsk)
• Close to Swedish and Danish (we understand each other)
• Many regional dialects
• Norwegian is the working language.
Some exceptions: Oil and Gas sector, some construction worksites, some
restaurants (for cooks), some cleaning positions (in hotels), some seasonal
(agriculture, fish industry)

9. Norwegian language courses
• ONLINE courses:
www.ntnu.edu/learnnow (free)
www.fu.no (payable)
www.migranorsk.no (payable)
• Courses in Spain:
http://institutnordic.com Barcelona
www.ucm.es/csim/idiomas Madrid
www.centro-escandinavo.org Scandinavian Club Madrid
www.clubescandinavo.com Scandinavian Club Barcelona
www.nordicsenter.com L’Alfàs del Pi

10. www.workinnorway.no

11. NAV, the Norwegian Labour and
Welfare Administration, pages in English
www.nav.no/english

12. Most wanted engineers
• Petroleum engineers
• Subsea engineers
• Drilling engineers
• Piping engineers
• Mechanical engineers
• Hydraulic engineers
• Structural engineers / Steel
calculation
• Stress analysts
No demand for environmental
engineers or chemical engineers
• Machine design engineers
• Electrical engineers
• Automation engineers
• Engineers civil works (buidings,
roads, bridges and tunnels, water
and sewage management). NB:
Norwegian language skills
required
No demand for Civil engineers with
no experience with steel structures
and who do not speak Norwegian.

13. Other professionals wanted
Medical doctors
Specialized nurses
Pre-school teachers
Teachers (especially in science subjects
and maths)
Truck Mechanics and car Mechanics
Electromechanics
Electricians
Industrial plumbers
Cooks, pastry chefs and waiters
NB: most jobs – and especially those that imply a contact with
patients, customers or pupils/students, require Norwegian
language skills

14. Job seeking I
more details on www.workinnorway.no
• Make a CV in English, or in a Scandinavian
language if you speak one
• Europass CV increasingly common
• 2-3 reference persons is common (who
speak English!)
• First CV and cover letter, other documents
if requested
• Be prepared: have scanned copies of
certificates, diplomas, letters of reference
etc ready to go!
• More and more online applications

15. Job seeking II
• CV in English for Norwegian employers:
– Personal information: name, address, phone, e-mail, date of birth,
nationality
– Key skills
– Education (describe shortly)
– Work experience (describe shortly). NB: mention the website of your
previous employers(s)
– Courses and certificates
– Technical skills
– Language skills
– Interests
– References (eg. former employer ) + phone number or e-mail
– Photo not required
– 1-2 pages maximum
– Use decreasing chronological order for education, work experience,
courses etc…
– Don’t use sentences!

16. Mr. John Jobseeker
Address: Solgata, 00001- Madrid (Spain)
12 12 12 14
john.jobseeker@yahoo.cim
Date of birth: 01.01.1985
Nationality: Spanish
Key skills
 Structural Engineering (concrete and steel design) static and dynamic analysis.
 Fluid, Soil Mechanics & Foundation Engineering.
 Site supervision, Surveying , Cost estimate and Technical drawings.
Education and Qualifications:
2008-2011 Master of Science (M.sc Eng.) Civil & Structural Engineering
Polytechnic University of Bari – Italy www.website.it
2004-2008 Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering
Polytechnic University of Bari Italy www.website.it
Work Experience:
May 2012 –
Feb 2014
Civil engineer
Engineering Company, Italy , www.website.com
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
Mar 2010 –
Jan 2012
Consulting engineer in building firms
Engineering Consultants, Spain, www.website.es
XXXXXX
XXXXXX
Mar 2008-
July 2008
Internship – civil works department
Municipality of Broom, Italy
Assistant in a tunnel building project, CAD drawing
Technical skills: FEM integrated software for structural analysis and design (SAP2000, Strand7, ETABS
..),AutoCAD, 3D CAD systems, MS project 2013, Photoshop CS3, Windows OS
Languages Spoken: English (fluent) and Italian (mother tongue).
Interests: Civil works (in particular tunnels and bridges), Travel, Hiking, Biking, Playing guitar.
Reference:
Mr. George Boss, department manager, Engineering company www.website.it
Phone: (+111) 12 13 14 15, mail: georgeboss@website.it

17. Job seeking III
• Find jobs at:
– www.workinnorway.no
– Job offers in English at www.nav.no/englisheures
– www.finn.no/jobb (some job offers in English)
• Advice about job seeking: www.nav.no/englisheures
• Call for listings of available jobs at: NAV Service Centre Phone
- Phone: +47- 800 33 166
- Monday – Friday 08:00 – 18:00
• Contact the EURES Adviser in your area

18. Job seeking IV
Many jobs are NOT advertised
on the traditional websites for job search
• Apply directly for companies. Use www.nortrade.com or the Yellow Pages
www.gulesider.no to find companies
• LinkedIn and Facebook more and more used for recruitment
• Many jobs are filled through personal contacts
• Private recruitment agencies have a great part of the job market. See
www.stillinger.no for listings of agencies
• Useful websites?
www.spaniards.es la Communidad des Españoles en el Mundo
Facebook group “Noruega en Castellano”

19. Working Conditions I
• Written contract obligatory
• 3-6 months probationary period
• Salary paid once a month.
NB: salary most often expressed as GROSS
(before taxes)
• Employer draws tax from your monthly pay
• 40 working hours per week
• Shift workers have 35,5 hours working week.
More details at the Labour Inspection:
www.arbeidstilsynet.no (English version)
“Wage and working conditions”

20. Working Conditions II
• Holiday: 25 working days per year
• Holiday pay normally paid out in the month of June
• Holiday pay 12% of gross pay for trade union members
• 10,2% for non trade union members.

21. Is Norway expensive?
• Most Norwegian families are two-income economies
• Clothing and food prices average for Europe
• Income tax is also average for Europe (about 1/3 of the income)
• Housing is expensive (approximately 40 % of your income)
• Luxury products are expensive (hotels, restaurants, alcohol, cigarettes
etc)
• VAT (sales tax) on some items higher than in many countries….
• Cars are very expensive.
• Gasoline is also expensive, about 1,8 € per liter (August 2014).
• It is expensive to visit Norway as a tourist, and as a job seeker

22. Taxes
www.taxnorway.no
• If you work in Norway for a Norwegian employer, you must pay
income tax to Norway. Apply for a tax deduction card!
• Average income tax is about 34-38%. The income tax based on
income level, personal economy and family economy
• The National Insurance contribution is 7.8% of the gross salary and
is included in the income tax
• Deductions!
• EU/EEA citizens are entitled to a deduction called “standardfradrag” in
the two first years (10% or max NOK 40,000 per year)
• Interests paid on mortgages and loans can be deducted from taxable
income
• Tax return form submitted every year in April
• The employer deducts the income tax from the gross salary, every
month

23. Useful websites
Recognition of qualifications
www.nokut.no higher education, vocational education
and regulated professions
NB: check if your profession is regulated!
www.sak.no authorization of health personnel
Norwegian registration authority for health
personnel
www.dsb.no authorization for electricians
National Directorate for Civil Protection

24. Work/Residence/Registration
• Norway is an EEA (not EU) member, but all EU/EEA and Swiss
citizens have the right to work, study and live in Norway
• For stays of more than 3 months, you must register with UDI (the
Directorate of Immigration) through the Registration Scheme for
EU/EEA nationals www.udi.no
• As soon as you get a job, you must register. After registration you
must meet in person at a Police office with your passport and work
contract
• Job seekers must also register if staying in Norway for more than 3
months www.udi.no
Process described on www.workinnorway.no

25. Thank you for your attention and
good luck!