Industry dialogues will strengthen the supply of skills in Norrbotten
How do we ensure that Norrbotten has the right skills for the future? That was the common question when representatives from the construction and civil engineering industry, the hospitality industry and the cultural and creative industries gathered at Kompetensarena Norrbotten.
The purpose of the meeting was to take the next step in the work with regional industry dialogues, a working method where business, education actors and public actors together identify skills needs, prioritize efforts and translate knowledge into action.
During the day, the results of the surveys conducted in each industry were discussed. The discussions centered on how the work can develop into a long-term process that creates benefits for both employers and society at large.
– We participated in the industry dialogue where the construction and civil engineering industry met the tourism industry and the creative industry to discuss skills supply. Even though we are different industries, we share the same challenge, the great need for more employees. The conversations provided new perspectives, valuable experiences and ideas on how we can together strengthen Norrbotten's attractiveness and attract more people to the county, says Erik Ranängen, industry and association manager for the Construction Companies in Norrbotten.
Common challenges
Skills development, recruitment, matching and stronger connections between education and working life were identified as priority areas and as common challenges for the industries.
– For the cultural and creative industries, it is about strengthening opportunities for education and skills development, but also about more people seeing the connection between a rich cultural life, attractive living environments and the county's ability to attract and retain skills, says Fredrika Johansson, Project Manager North Creative Nodes at Piteå Science Park and continues.
– The benefit of the day was to be able to take part in the results from the first survey and discuss how we can develop the work to get an even better basis for the industry's skills needs going forward. We also gained a consensus on how we as promoting actors can work to get more accurate and relevant answers.
A long-term model for Norrbotten
The goal is for the industry dialogues to become established meeting places where employers, education actors and public organizations together produce analyses, prioritize interventions and create concrete action plans.
In the long term, the work will help more people find the right education, gain a stronger position in the labor market, and choose to live and work in Norrbotten.
During the autumn, work will continue on developing the structure for the industry dialogues together with the pilot industries. The ambition is to create a model that can be used by more industries and contribute to a long-term sustainable supply of skills throughout the county.
Text: Charlotte Norenius Högnelid
