Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142) - Norway (RATIFICATION: 1976)

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Articles 1 to 5 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of vocational education and training policies and programmes. Cooperation with the social partners. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that it has carried out a revision of the vocational education and training (VET) structure and programmes in close collaboration with the social partners. The Government adds that the objective of the revision is to improve the relevance of VET education in order to provide training and educational paths that meet the needs of the labour market. The Ministry of Education and Research approved the revised VET programmes and structure in March 2018. Moreover, in 2017, the Government decided that the social partners, through the national VET councils, would have decisional status in the revision of VET outcomes in relation to apprenticeships. The Government also provides information on measures introduced to improve the services provided by the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) offices. The Government reports that, among other measures, the partnership established between the State and municipalities was renewed in 2018, thereby ensuring the parties’ common responsibility for running the NAV offices and providing services to users. In addition, a new platform of guidance in the NAV was introduced to improve the quality of the guidance and follow-up provided by NAV counsellors. The Committee further notes that, in 2017, the Government extended the time limits within which persons were required to complete their upper secondary education, with a view to enabling persons unable to meet this time limit to continue their education. The Government indicates that, before the extension was made, a distinction was drawn between the rights of young persons and those over the age of 25. Young persons under 25 were required to complete their upper secondary education within five years, or wait until they reached the age of 25 to be able to continue and complete their studies. In this regard, the Government reports that, in 2017, its target of 75 per cent of successful completion of upper secondary education was reached, for pupils who began their studies in 2012. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impacts of the revision of the vocational education and training structure and of the programmes developed and delivered in collaboration with the social partners. It also requests the Government to continue to provide detailed up-to-date information on the implementation of vocational guidance and vocational training programmes and on their results. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide information on cooperation with, and engagement of, employers’ and workers’ organizations in the formulation and implementation of vocational guidance and vocational training policies and programmes, particularly those targeting groups of workers in vulnerable situations, such as young persons, ethnic minorities, migrants and persons with disabilities.

Article 1(5). Specific categories of persons. Women. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 22 November 2017, while the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Committee (CEDAW) welcomed the continuous efforts taken by the Government to eliminate discrimination against women in the educational sector, and the progress achieved to date, it nevertheless expressed concern regarding persistent gender segregation in the educational sector at all levels, including with respect to non-traditional educational and occupational choices and the low number of women in high-level academic posts (CEDAW/C/NOR/CO/9, paragraph 34). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures taken to address gender segregation in the education sector at all levels, including vocational education and training and the promotion of non-traditional educational and occupational choices for women and girls as well as men and boys and to address the low proportion of women in high-level posts in the education sector. The Committee further requests the Government to provide detailed information on the impact of the measures taken.

Ethnic minorities. The Committee observes that, in its concluding observations of 2 January 2019, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concern regarding the situation of ethnic minorities and migrants in access to education, noting that: (i) 50 per cent of immigrant boys and 35 per cent of immigrant girls do not complete their upper secondary education within five years; (ii) immigrant children have lower performance in schools and ethnic minorities experience discrimination in schools; (iii) the completion rate for vocational schools is about 40 per cent for boys with an immigrant background who were born in Norway or immigrated to Norway; and (iv) while more girls belonging to ethnic minorities complete higher levels of secondary school than boys, fewer girls than expected secure employment commensurate with their education (CERD/C/NOR/CO/23-24, paragraph 19). The Committee recalls its 1996 General Survey on equality in employment and occupation (paragraph 71), in which it noted that if parts of the population are prevented from attaining the same level of education as others, this constitutes discrimination within the terms of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), since these differences will be extended into employment opportunities. Similarly, discriminatory practices affecting access to training or the quality of training will be perpetuated or aggravated when the persons who have suffered such discrimination compete for places in the vocational training systems and, consequently, in employment and occupation. Indeed, the Committee notes the concerns expressed by the CERD Committee that unemployment rates of persons belonging to ethnic minorities or those with migrant backgrounds remains high at over 11 per cent, and that the unemployment rate among immigrants is more than three times as high as among the general population, with lower employment rates among immigrants from Africa (CERD/C/NOR/CO/23-24, paragraph 17). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information regarding the specific measures taken or envisaged with a view to encourage and enable all persons, including those belonging to ethnic minority groups or those with an immigrant background, particularly of African descent, to develop and use their capabilities for work in their own best interests and in accordance with their own aspirations, in conditions of equality and without discrimination. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of such measures.

Young persons. The Government reports on the adoption of the New Youth Strategy (Ny-GIV) in 2017, which has the objective of further facilitating completion of education and increasing access to the labour market among young persons under the age of 30. The Strategy puts emphasis on early intervention and tailored follow-up services from NAV, particularly for young people who are not in employment, education or training. In 2015, the Ministry of Education launched the “0–24 cooperation” agreement between four directorates from different ministries to enhance collaboration among the directorates, the counties and municipalities in relation to the provision of services for children in vulnerable situations and young people under the age of 25. The Government adds that the agreement aims to reduce the drop-out rate in upper secondary education. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on measures taken to provide information to young people on occupation, vocational training and related educational opportunities, through the development of a website (Utdanning.no), which contains educational and vocational guidance, as well as through the introduction in the primary school curricula of a course (Utdanningsvalg) presenting information on a range of different educational systems, professions and occupations. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures adopted to promote enhanced access to education and training for young persons, including updated statistical data, disaggregated by sex, on the participation of young persons in the different education systems.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the measures taken in the framework of the Job Strategy for Persons with Disabilities, including the allocation of additional resources to increase the number of NAV staff working with persons with disabilities in the NAV offices, and an initiative (“Inkluderingsdugnaden”) composed of the State, municipalities and private and public sector actors, which targets persons with disabilities as a priority group and is focused on assisting them in accessing the labour market. The Government also reports that it is in the process of developing an Equality Strategy for persons with disabilities, which focuses on ensuring equal rights and possibilities in the everyday life of persons with disabilities, including promoting equal opportunities to participate in education and work. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed up-to-date information on the measures envisaged or taken to promote the access of persons with disabilities to vocational education and training, and on their impact. It further requests the Government to provide a copy of the Equality Strategy for persons with disabilities once it is adopted.

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Implementation of policies and programmes of vocational guidance and vocational training. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in September 2013 which includes observations made by the Confederation of Unions for Professionals (UNIO) and one of its members, the Union of Education Norway. The Government indicates that the partnership between State and municipality was one of the major objectives of the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) reform, thereby ensuring common responsibility to run the NAV offices and provide services to the users. The Committee notes that a new Corporate Strategy of the NAV for the period 2011–20 was launched in 2011, and that a new standard and procedures for following up on NAV users was to be implemented in 2013. This new standard aims to help more users to obtain employment through targeted services and an improved follow-up system. It further notes that the New Possibilities (Ny GIV) project, introduced in 2010 and running until the end of 2013, aims to increase successful completion in upper secondary education and training from 70 to 75 per cent. In its observations, the Union of Education Norway states that it sees a need for systematic sharing of experiences and to improve the system of educational guidance. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of vocational guidance and vocational training programmes and on their results (Article 1 of the Convention). Please also continue to report on the cooperation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the formulation and implementation of vocational guidance and vocational training policies and programmes (Article 5). The Committee also refers the Government to its comments formulated on the application of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122).

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Implementation of policies and programmes of vocational guidance and vocational training. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in December 2008 including observations made by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, LO–Norway. It notes the current process of establishing the Labour Welfare Administration, which, in partnership with the municipal social assistance services, aims at offering “One stop shops” in all municipalities. It further notes that this approach, combined with the new policy strategies and new anti-discrimination legislation, is aimed, inter alia, at combating various forms of discrimination, and is to form the basis for better, more simplified, more personalized and more efficient services, especially for those at the fringes of the labour market. The Committee also notes the new follow-up strategy combined with work-training, starting at the secondary-school level (“The Knowledge Promotion”), capturing unemployed high-school graduates through an increase of labour market training from ten to 16 months and continuing throughout their working life (“Early Intervention for Lifelong Learning”). The Committee looks forward to examining in the Government’s next report information on the effective implementation of the reform of the vocational education and training system, especially in regard to the establishment of the Labour Welfare Administration, so as to ensure that vocational guidance and vocational training policies and programmes take due account of employment needs, opportunities and problems.