FINNUT-Forskning og innovasjon i utdanningssektoren

Since the Hanseatic League, craft- and tradesmen moving across the borders have been an important source of development, learning, skill formation and innovation in Europe. After a period of closure, the European markets for labour and services have anew been opened for free movement, in recent decades spurring unprecedented flows of labour and skills from the countries around the Baltic Sea and Eastern Europe to neighboring countries. In the project "Moving Trades" we analyse how labour migration affects skill formation systems and use of skills in the national labour market in both the receiving and sending end of the new migratory flows. The interdependence between countries and the national policy responses to challenges caused by labour migration will influence the outcomes on the national and regional levels. On the receiving end we focus on Norway, Denmark, and Switzerland, three countries with collective skill formation and vocational training based on apprenticeship. We focus on particular industries where VET plays an important part, and analyse the impact of labour migration in these industries. A multilevel approach (firm, branch and country) enables us to identify factors on different levels that affect skill formation, apprenticeship training and the use of skilled labour. In the sending countries we aim to give an overview of the VET-systems, the developments since 2004, and to identify responses and patterns of skill formation that have arisen as a consequence of the outflow of labour. In a regional perspective there might be win-win dynamics, but collective action problems may also lead to systematic under-provision of vocational skills, to the detriment of growth and employment in the whole region. Preliminary findings from the project have been presented at several seminars and workshops at Fafo and the Arendal Conference, at the European Center for Vocational Training, Cedefop, and at Nordic and European research conferences. Three articles have so far been published, and a fourth article and will be published in the fall of 2020. The article "Transitions from vocational education to employment in the Nordic countries" examines the link between basic vocational education and the labor market in four Nordic countries and shows how the different systems to varying degrees support young people's transition from education to working life. The article is included in the book "Vocational education in the Nordic countries: Learning from diversity". The article "Social partners 'policy reactions to migration in occupational labor markets: The case of the Swiss construction industry" shows how employers' organizations and unions in the Swiss construction industry have responded to increased labor immigration through political initiatives enhancing regulation of access to and wages in occupational labour markets. The article «Capacity for reform: the changing roles of apprenticeship in three Nordic countries» provides an analysis of how vocational education has developed in different directions in Norway, Sweden and Denmark over the last 40 years. It shows that labour market organizations have had a decisive influence on the importance of the apprenticeship scheme in relation to the formal education system. The article «Exit, Voice or Loyalty? VET Stakeholders? Response to Large Scale Skilled Emigration From Poland» investigates how mass emigration of skilled workers affects national policies, and employers' willingness to invest in vocational education and training (VET) in Poland. The study shows that one of the most significant obstacles to employers investing in VET is the fear of losing young skilled employees through emigration.

Since the days of the Hanseatic League, craft- and tradesmen moving across the borders have been an important source of development, learning, skill formation and innovation in Europe. After a period of closure, the European markets for labour and services have anew been opened for free movement, in recent decades spurring unprecedented flows of labour and skills from the countries around the Baltic Sea and Eastern Europe to neighboring countries. In the project "Moving Trades" we will analyse how this labour migration pattern affect skill formation systems and use of skills in the labour market in countries in both the receiving and sending end of the new migratory flows. The interdependence between countries and the national policy responses to the challenges will influence the outcomes on the national and regional level. On the receiving end we focus on Norway and a group of other countries (Denmark, Germany and Switzerland) that also have collective systems of vocational education and training (VET) based on apprenticeships. We will select particular industries where VET plays an important part, and analyse the impact of labour migration in these industries. The multilevel approach (firm, branch and country) will enable us to identify variables on different levels that affect skill formation and use and the role of VET. In the sending countries we aim to give an overview of the VET-systems, the developments since 2004, and to identify responses and patterns of skill formation that have arisen as a consequence of the outflow of labour. In a regional perspective there might be win-win dynamics, but collective action problems may also lead to systematic under-provision of vocational skills, to the detriment of growth and employment in the whole region.