Norway

Making migration and mobility positive forces for development
1. Bring together representatives of diaspora communities and governments of countries of origin and destination for round-table debates on sharing best practices and on recognising the role and needs of diaspora communities in development and investment in countries of origin as well as in integration in the host societies.

The goal of this policy is to increase labour market participation by investing in formal education, skills and qualifications, and to foster participation in society in general. Formal skills and qualifications are key to acquiring and keeping a job.

At the core of Norway’s Integration Policy are two programmes regulated by the Introduction Act:

The reinforced integration effort is one of the Government’s six main areas of commitment. The main challenges are low employment rates among immigrants, a skills gap, and exclusion along economic, social and cultural dividing lines. The goal of the strategy is, through a coordinated and comprehensive effort, to increase labour participation and participation in society in general,.

Norway has recently launched its new integration strategy 2019-2022 "Integration through knowledge", which places great emphasis on investment in education, qualification and skills. 

The aim of the strategy is to increase immigrants’ participation in working life and in society in general, focusing primarily on helping immigrants to access work. The strategy also involves strengthening the effort to prevent segregation and exclusion, instead promoting participation and togetherness.

Public Services International (PSI), in collaboration with ILO's European Union-funded “Decent Work Across Borders” (DWAB) project has produced seven pre-decision, pre-departure, and return migration guides for healthcare workers.

The European Qualifications Passport being piloted in Greece by various European agencies for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills is another example to emulate. The “passports” confirm the qualifications and skills of migrants based on interviews and credential evaluations so that they can readily enter the labour market.

The IGC is an informal, non-decision making forum for intergovernmental information exchange and policy debate on issues of relevance to the management of international migratory flows.

The IGC brings together 16 Participating States, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration and the European Commission. The Participating States are Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America.

Norwegian ENIC-NARIC Centre offers alternative educational assessments for those missing documentation. 

In accordance with the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region (the Lisbon Recognition Convention), section VII, the Norwegian ENIC-NARIC office, NOKUT, has developed a procedure for formal recognition of higher education qualifications for persons without verifiable documentation.

The main goal of the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) is to increase access to finance for small and medium enterprises – which is especially relevant for returning migrants. The AGF’s key mandate is to assist financial institutions to increase their financing to African Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) through the provision of partial financial guarantees and capacity development assistance. AGF’s products and services provide financial institutions with the means which they can leverage in bringing their African SME financing interventions to the required scale.