This is Burton Mo’s dream student

– I’ve heard that information technology is the future.

Erling Viet Nesit, a computer technology student at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, is one of many students in his field of study who have already secured a job – before he finishes his education.

He is a dream student of the Minister for Research and Higher Education Ola Borten Moe (Sp). When the minister presented the outlook report at the end of March, he asked educational institutions to increase the number of study places in IT, and it was clear on several occasions that Norway needed more technologists.

“It’s good that the minister is happy,” Nessette said when asked if he knew he was one of the students Burton Moe wanted more of.

Tuesday 25 April at 14.15 organized by Khrono and the University of Southeast Norway Discuss how educational institutions can meet the needs of the business world.

The committee includes Rector Peter Assen at University of Southeast Norway, Dean Jens Christian Thisted at Vestfold and Telemark Vocational School, Managing Director Sverre Jottaas at Heroya Industrial Park, Department Chair Elisabeth Severud in the Department of Technology, Natural Sciences and Maritime Studies at University of Southeast Norway and Senior Advisor Bohr T Jacobsen at NHO Vestfold and Telemark.

You can follow the discussion live here.

Guaranteed job

Student Erling Feet Nesset got a job at Progit Consulting several months before finishing his education. Now there are only two months left before he starts his working life.

– Was Norwegian society’s need for competence part of your assessment when you chose your field of study?

Not at first, but I knew the job prospects were good. The vast majority of course participants have already found a job. It’s a bonus, Nessett says, but I chose computer technology in the first place because information technology sounded exciting.

It has found support in the NTNU candidate survey, which shows that two out of three get a job before they complete their education. On the faculty at Nissett, the number is even higher. 73 percent got a job before passing the last exam.

In March, the government introduced Utsynsmeldingen. In the report submitted to the Norwegian Parliament, the government has identified the most important skills needed in future working life and the measures that educational institutions must implement to meet future needs in Norway.

Swiss Army Knife training

Borten Moe announcement to create more study places in the field of ICT, It does not come with more funds. The instruction is that foundations must ensure that resources are reallocated under the framework grant. The question is what should not be prioritized?

“I am concerned about the humanities and social sciences and give priority to the areas that I consider necessary,” said the Rector of Østfold University, Lars-Peter Yelsens Jørgensen, regarding the presentation of the overview.

One such student is a master’s student in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Oslo, Magnus Brandt Lågøyr.

Political science is often referred to as a “Swiss Army Knife” education without a very clear career path. It requires a slightly different approach to education. “I knew what skills I needed for the job I wanted, and I used the time outside of my studies to do that,” says Laguerre.

He is on his first week as an Advansia trainee when Khrono calls him. For him, the experience he gained from the security consulting department is worth its weight in gold.

He believes that there is a great need for people with a background in social sciences also in places that work with technology.

It’s about the whole team. Some are good at the more technical aspects of technology, but there is also a need for employees with a combination of an understanding of technology and the analytical skills one learns through a social science education.

Shortage of supply

At the beginning of the 2000s, Berit Svendsen was CTO and Head of Research at Telenor. From 2011 to 2018, she was CEO of Telenor Norway.

Today she works as a consultant at Advansia, the same company where Lågøyr is an intern. The company describes itself as Norway’s leading professional environment in project and construction management and is now investing heavily in cyber security.

Svendsen, who is also the chairman of Vy, explains that Norway is in a position where it runs the risk of falling into the trap of many other countries when it comes to IT skills and technological sophistication.

– There is a shortage of people with good IT skills in Norway. We live in one of the most digitized countries in the world, but we must keep up the pace. Other countries are rushing forward, and if we don’t keep up, we will eventually lose,” Lakhrono says.

Are there enough technicians and IT staff being trained in Norway?

Not if you look at the needs that await us in the future. We are very vulnerable, and there should have been more focus on both Internet technology and IT security. Defending ourselves digitally will become more and more important, Svendsen says.

He must enter several educations

She points out that Norway and the rest of the world will become greener, and that in the coming years, technological expertise in this area will be absolutely central if we want to be able to develop greener ecosystems.

– We lack specialized experience, and this applies not only to personnel, but also to the management level. We need more managers who understand technology and who at the same time want to develop more through training, says Svendsen enthusiastically.

She further points out that it is not only in the IT sector itself that tech workers are needed.

“In a few years we will not have enough capacity and staff to house the elderly and the sick, of whom there are still more and more.” This means that medical examinations and treatments must be taken home. Here, new technology is needed, and then you also need employees who understand how to use new technology. This means that IT knowledge and technology must be included as a much larger part of, for example, nursing education than is the case today, says Svendsen.