Foreword

This review of the skills and labour market integration of immigrants and their children in Norway is the third in a series conducted by the International Migration Division in the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. This series builds on previous country-specific reports by the OECD in the series Jobs for Immigrants (Vols. 1, 2 and 3), which included a first review of Norway.

With about 16% of its population foreign-born, up from just 6.5% 20 years ago, Norway has one of the fastest growing immigrant populations in the OECD. Migrants in Norway are predominantly European labour migrants and their family benefiting from free mobility. At the same time, Norway is a longstanding destination for humanitarian migrants and most non-EU migrants have arrived to seek protection in Norway. As a result of this composition, migrants in Norway have very different skills and integration needs.

At the beginning of 2021, a new Integration Act entered into force. It aims to provide individualised support and continues Norway’s important investment into labour market preparation. Its implementation coincided with some of the measures to tackle COVID-19, and outcomes remain to be seen, though many of the changes address previous shortcomings. Overall, integration of immigrants and their children in Norway takes place in one of the highest skilled labour markets in the OECD and in a country whose social welfare model is dependent on high employment of both genders.

This review examines the skills and labour market situation of immigrants and their children in this, the Norwegian context. The report is structured as follows: Chapter 1 presents the assessment and recommendations. Chapter 2 provides an overview of the labour market context in which integration in Norway takes place, including the composition of the foreign-born population. Chapter 3 discusses the framework for the integration of humanitarian arrivals in Norway, including the Introduction Programme and language training. Chapter 4 examines labour market outcomes of specific migrant groups, and programmes for their support. Chapter 5 turns to the educational and labour market entry challenges children of immigrants face in Norway.

This report was largely completed before the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Norway swiftly adapted its integration framework to accommodate for the specific challenges arising from the inflow of refugees from Ukraine. These measures are discussed in a separate chapter, Chapter 6.

This review was written by Elisabeth Kamm from the OECD’s International Migration Division together with Hedvig Heijne. Thomas Liebig co-ordinated the report. The review benefitted from various comments and contributions by Jean-Christophe Dumont, Helen Ewald, Vilde Hernes, Lauren Matherne, Maria Sannikov, Mark Pearson, and Cecile Thoreau. The OECD Secretariat would like to thank the Norwegian Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion for supporting this review. We are grateful for their support in gathering the relevant stakeholders, organising virtual missions, and facilitating the work of the OECD Secretariat, which has been invaluable in the production of this review. Special thanks also go to the Directorate of Integration and Diversity and Statistics Norway for their data support. The Secretariat would also like to thank the authorities and stakeholders from the public and private sectors, civil society and academia who shared their knowledge and insights during the review process.