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 X-Expats interviewed Tor Ketil Solberg, Adviser at EURES, a cooperation network comprising of Public Employment Services of EEA member states launched in 1993 by the European Commission. EURES advisers cater to employers and jobseekers (domestic and foreign) and provide extensive resources and information to support job mobility.
X-Expats: How can Norwegian nationals get in touch with your organization? What kind of information is available on your site?
Tor Ketil Solberg: We’re easily spotted. Our web page is part of the web portal of the public employment service. We rely on good communication to inform individuals of the changes and developments that resulted from the merging of public employment, national insurance, and local social services into NAV (the employment and welfare administration). Initiated early 2006, this merging process was completed last year.
News and changes in rules or administrative policies may be found on our site. Before returning to Norway, individuals should refresh their knowledge of the job market in general and investigate specific sectors. We respond to e-mails and are reachable via phone.
X-E: Do you maintain statistics on return migration to Norway?
TKS: Unfortunately at EURES, we don’t track these statistics; however Statistics Norway is great for this kind of information: In 2009, 13 percent of individuals moving to Norway were of Norwegian nationality. In numbers, that equates to 8,500 people. Many of them were students, and about 700 returned from the United States.
X-E: Is there a typical profile of a Norwegian returning expat?
TKS: Norwegians who studied abroad, but given our country’s main export activities, a significant number of mobile workers in the energy sector may naturally return from a stay abroad, with or without a partner and/or family.
X-E: How would you describe the job market in your country for individuals with international expertise/multicultural skills?
TKS: I would say increasingly diverse. Norway as a country has gradually opened up to the international arena and expanded across borders. It is also reflected by the fact that a growing number of employers recruited workers from abroad in the few years that preceded the financial meltdown of 2008. They reported mostly positive experiences.
X-E: What recommendations do you have for Norwegian returning expats to prepare for their return home? What steps do they need to take prior to departure and upon their reentry into Norway?
TKS: There are several things to think of, and some should definitely be a priority. Returning expatriates should document their employment abroad and ensure that social security or social insurance history is in order for retirement planning. When the time to enjoy retirement comes, people appreciate that the paperwork for benefits has already been taken care of well in advance. Contact your social security authority to find out whether your country has signed a social security agreement with Norway.
X-E: Are there specific resources you would recommend for returning expats who wish to become entrepreneurs?
TKS: Counties have dedicated support and advisory bodies, usually in collaboration with regional chambers of commerce and public services to help entrepreneurs set up a business in their region. To locate these organizations, they should contact Innovation Norway or the municipality where they plan to settle down. More general /basic information is readily available online or on the governmental business information portal. Finally, at the European level, the portal Your Europe supplies statistics and data on sectors and conditions in countries throughout the EEA.
X-E: Thank you very much Tor for this detailed resources.
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