10 Training and skills
The policy aim for 2017 was that 90 per cent should achieve A2 or higher on the oral test and 70 per cent should achieve A2 or higher on the written one. This policy aim was reached on the written test in 2018, when 83 per cent of all candidates got A2 or higher on the test in listening, 73 per cent in reading and 81 per cent in writing. Com-pared to 2017, there has been a slight decrease in the score for both listening, writing and reading skills. In 2018, 85 per cent of all the candidates got A2 or higher on the oral test, compared to 86 per cent in 2017.
From 2014, it has been mandatory for the participants to take a test in social studies after completing 50 hours of training in a language they understand. The test is avail-able in 27 languages, in addition to two of the official Norwegian written languages.
In 2018, 17 629 candidates took the test, compared to 22 100 in 2017. The policy aim for 2018 was that 90 per cent should pass the test in social studies. 84,4 per cent of all the candidates passed that year, compared to 79 per cent in 2017.
To improve the quality of the teaching and the capacity of the municipalities to pro-vide individually adapted language training, the funding of projects in the municipali-ties, introduced in 2013, continues. The funds may also be used to improve the qual-ity of the Introduction Program.
Asylum seekers residing in a reception centre are offered 175 hours of Norwegian language training by the municipality, free of charge. In 2018, 1 081 asylum seekers received such language training (of in total 3 061), compared to 2 300 in 2017. In 2018 36 per cent of the asylum seekers residing in reception centres received such training, compared to 31 per cent in 2017. The number of asylum seekers to Norway was reduced and many reception centres were shut down in 2018. This explains the low number of municipalities providing language training to residents in reception centres.
The Introduction Program
The aim of the Introduction Program is to provide each participant with fundamental skills in the Norwegian language and some insight into Norwegian society, as well as to prepare him/her for employment or further education as well as participation in the Norwegian society. The right and obligation to participate in the program applies to refugees and their family members, in addition to persons granted residence on hu-manitarian grounds and their family members. The rights and obligations only apply to those between the ages 18 and 55 who need to acquire basic qualifications in order to find employment or to participate in further education.
The Introduction Program is an individually adapted full-time program to acquire basic qualifications. Participants in the program are entitled to an Introduction Bene-fit. The benefit amounts to twice the basic amount of the National Insurance Scheme annually (about € 20 000 in 2019). Participants under 25 receive two thirds of the benefit. The benefit is taxable.
Effects of the Introduction Program are monitored. During 2018, 27 100 persons ticipated in the program, compared to 29 000 in 2017. Forty-one per cent of the par-ticipants were women. 30 Of the participants who finished the program in 2016, 62 per cent were employed or participated in education by November 2017. This is one per-centage point higher than for the cohort of the participants the previous year. As be-fore, a larger proportion of the men (71 per cent) than of the women (50 per cent) had found work or were attending education, cf. chart 10.1.
Chart 10.1 Persons completing the Introduction Program in 2016 by gender and la-bour market situation or in education by November 2017. Per cent
6,
Source: Statistics Norway
The Job Opportunity Program
The aim of the Job Opportunity Program is to increase the employment rate among immigrants who need basic skills and who are not covered by other schemes or who are in need of individualised training. The Directorate of Integration and Diversity administers the scheme.
Starting from 2017, the program is divided into three different schemes with three dif-ferent target groups:
- One scheme (Part A) is for women outside the labour market who are not re-ceiving supplementary public benefits, nor attending any form of language or labour market training.
- The second scheme (Part B) subsidises school owners (municipalities, coun-ties) that offer additional primary and secondary education for young people.
- The third scheme (Part C) gives the municipalities an opportunity to pilot a fourth year in the Introduction Program for those who need it.
Seventy per cent of the participants, who completed the Part A-scheme in 2018, were employed or participated in education after completing the program. The Part
30 http://www.ssb.no/en/utdanning/statistikker/introinnv/aar-deltakere
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Employed or in education
Unemployed or in ALMP-programs
Other status or no information
All Men Women
scheme that subsidises schools owners had 1 222 participants/students in 2018. The Part C scheme received twice as many applications in 2018 than in 2017.
New policies and measures – Basic qualifications
The Government has proposed a new Integration Act, replacing the current Introduc-tion Act. The proposal is a follow-up of the IntegraIntroduc-tion Strategy, which emphasises that the introduction program should give participants the types of formal skills re-quired by Norwegian employers or needed to qualify for further education. The pro-posal defines the responsibilities of the counties regarding integration, and proposes mandatory mapping of skills and career guidance before the Introduction Program starts.
For the Introduction Program it is proposed that:
• The length of the program can vary between three months and four years de-pending on the participant's previous education and the goals for the introduc-tion program
• The program shall contain Norwegian language training, social studies and measures that prepare for work or further education.
• There should be mandatory courses in empowerment for all
• There should be mandatory courses providing parental guidance for partici-pants with children
• Participants under 25 without an upper secondary education should primarily have upper secondary education as their introduction program.
For the Norwegian language training and social studies it is proposed to:
• Replace the requirement for a specific number of hours of Norwegian training by a requirement to achieve a certain level in Norwegian. Which level the par-ticipant shall reach is decided on the basis of the parpar-ticipant's educational background.
• Introduce a skills requirement for teachers providing Norwegian language training for immigrants.