Sammen om en jobb 's presentation of the mentoring program, together with Silje Landsmann-Wiwe from Ål Municipality, at the Viken conference in Drammen, Oslo, and Fredrikstad in June 2023.
Through our digital network community, Sammen om en jobb helps Norwegian municipalities address two challenges simultaneously: 1) improved integration and a desire to stay by supporting highly educated immigrants in finding relevant jobs, and 2) recruitment and migration by connecting this target group with the business community’s need for skilled workers. In this article, we explore what such a collaboration might look like.
Integration
In 2021, more than 73,000 highly skilled immigrants were in jobs for which they were overqualified (SSB, 2022). This means that nearly all Norwegian municipalities have resources that they are not fully utilizing. Part of the reason for the high rate of exclusion among highly educated immigrants is that they are a group that has been given low priority, and it is often more difficult to assist them through existing measures. In the quest for a “ relevant job ” in Norway, technical jargon, professional networks, knowledge of the labor market, work culture, and informal workplace norms, as well as unrecognized skills and work experience, combined with skepticism and perceived risk on the part of employers, are significant barriers that make it difficult to succeed.
Through a digital learning and networking community and Norway’s largest mentoring program, we support highly qualified immigrants across the country on their path to a relevant job. Through the program, participants receive:
🎓 Weekly courses and events
✏️ 80+ tools and resources for job hunting in Norway
💬 Meet companies, mentors, and other job seekers
🙋🏾♀️ One-on-one help with your job search
👋 Opportunity to find a personal mentor in your field
Within the community, participants are recognized and empowered as professionals, and it serves as a valuable complement to local programs. Being part of a professional learning and networking community may be especially important in smaller municipalities, where modest participant numbers can make it impractical to establish a program tailored to each individual’s professional background.
In addition to improving participants’ chances of finding a relevant job in Norway, the network serves as an important platform where municipalities and local employers can attract talent from across the country.
Recruitment
As of April 2024, Sammen om en jobb had 284 active participants in Norway’s largest network for highly qualified immigrants, as well as several hundred alumni. Among the participants were 52 engineers, 41 people with an IT background, and 66 people in the fields of economics and/or administration. This is the kind of workforce that is needed in municipalities across Norway.
What the participants have in common is that they have a college degree, have arrived in Norway fairly recently, and are looking for a relevant job. Typically, a large portion of this group lives in major cities where competition for jobs is fierce, and they are often more willing to relocate for a job opportunity elsewhere in the country than the rest of the population.
Together with Norwegian municipalities, we want to encourage more job seekers to explore job opportunities outside the major cities. Through our unique digital platform and over seven years of experience connecting highly educated immigrants with relevant jobs, we see great potential to solve two major challenges at once: to contribute to better integration by helping talented individuals make the most of their skills and potential, while also meeting the business community’s need for labor.
Here's what a collaboration might look like
The first step toward a successful collaboration is to develop a plan with specific goals and select a point person from the municipality. This should be someone with a good understanding of the municipality’s skills needs—such as a business development specialist, an HR manager, or someone in a similar role.
Depending on the municipality's needs and goals, such a collaboration could involve, among other things:
Integration:
We help the municipality get its own residents involved in relevant job by giving them access to courses, support, networks, and follow-up within the digital learning and networking community.
We help recruit local mentors who can be matched with local job seekers.
We help the municipality and local businesses become attractive places to work and live by offering support to help the partners of newcomers find a relevant job
Recruitment:
Business development professionals, HR staff, and others gain access to a database of 284+ active job seekers and can begin recruiting specifically for open positions.
The municipality or local businesses will have the opportunity and receive support to advertise job openings in relevant fields on the digital network.
The municipality or local businesses present local workforce needs, job openings, and the municipality as a place to live at one of our regular networking events.
The municipality and local businesses have the opportunity to invite job seekers in the network to their own events and job fairs
Through a partnership with Sammen om en jobb , the municipality will both help individuals put their skills to use and realize their potential, and contribute to strengthening the local business community. The exact details of the partnership will be determined in collaboration with the municipality.
Sammen om en jobb is a nonprofit organization, where all profits are reinvested in the organization and our social mission. For questions regarding potential partnerships, please contact Vilde at vilde@sammenomenjobb.no
Sources:
SSB (2022). How many immigrants are overqualified? Available at: www.ssb.no/arbeid-og-lonn/sysselsetting/artikler/hvor-mange-innvandrere-er-overkvalifisert