23/04/13
Integrating Global Talent in
Norway: Statistical Report
Study sponsored by Abelia, Akademikerne, The
Research Council, NHO, Tekna and SIU
For information on obtaining additional copies, permission
to reprint or translate this work, and all other correspondence,
please contact:
DAMVAD
info@damvad.com
damvad.no
The study is sponsored by Abelia, Akademikerne, The Research
Council, NHO, Tekna and SIU . The opinions and findings
contained in the study are solely those of DAMVAD.
Copyright 2013
2
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
Introduction and summary of results
4
1.1.1 Characteristics of the international students and PhDs in Norway
5
1.1.2 The students’ educational profile
5
1.1.3 International students and PhDs’ access to the Norwegian labour market
6
1.1.4 A profile of the foreign high-skilled workers coming to Norway
7
1.1.5 Profile of students and PhDs leaving Norway
7
1.1.6 The future attraction of global talents to Norway
8
What characterise the global talents coming to Norway?
9
2.1
Introduction
9
2.2
Origin of international students and PhDs
9
2.3
More female students, less female PhDs
10
2.4
Educational background
11
2.5
Settling down in Norway
12
Access to and mobility at the Norwegian labour market
14
3.1
Introduction
14
3.2
Employment sector
14
3.3
Employment status and working hours
17
3.4
Average income in their first job
17
The foreign high-skilled workers coming to Norway
21
4.1
Who are the foreign high-skilled workers
21
4.2
Access to the Norwegian labour market
22
4.3
Average income first year in Norway
24
Profile of the international students and PhDs leaving Norway
25
5.1
Introduction
25
5.2
Origin
25
5.3
The singles leave
26
5.4
Level and field of education
26
Conclusion on the future for global talent in Norway
28
6.1
Introduction
28
6.2
Meeting the demand for labour in Norway
28
Approach and methodology
30
6.2.1 Definitions
30
6.2.2 The timeframe of the statistical analysis
31
6.2.3 Population
31
Data sources and variables
32
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
3
1
Introduction and summary of results
This report presents the results of a statistical
The aim of the study is also to provide an empirical
1
study of foreign students , PhDs and foreign high-
description of the students and PhDs who have
skilled labour in Norway. The statistical study aims
graduated in Norway and after that left the country.
at characterising the differences and similarities
between foreign students and PhDs and foreign
The study is the third and final part of the project
high-skilled labour coming to Norway over the past
“Integrating Global Talent in Norway” which has
two decades.
been initiated by the organisations Abelia, Akademikerne, the Research Council of Norway, NHO,
We analyse how many of the students and PhDs
Tekna and SIU. The study is the first thorough sta-
choose to stay in Norway after graduation to work
tistical study of its kind, and we want to thank the
and live, as compared to how many foreign high-
sponsoring organisations for initiating this im-
skilled workers come to Norway – and what char-
portant study. There are many reasons for seeking
acterises the two groups. We also want to identify
this kind of quantitative empirical evidence about
the mobility of the students (including the PhDs)
the characteristics of international students and
and the high-skilled labour, in addition to the
PhDs. One important reason is that more and
groups’ access to the labour market over time.
more students come to Norway (see FigurE 1.1).
1
If nothing else is stated, foreign students refers to all students with
either a Bachelor’s degree or a Master’s degree
FIGURE 1.1
1)
International students and PhDs’ first year registered in higher education in Norway. 1970-2009
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
19701972197419761978198019821984198619881990199219941996199820002002200420062008
Number of students and PhDs
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
Note 1): Students who have started their studies after 2009 are excluded due to our definition of exchange students (see appendix for a more detailed
explanation)
4
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
By foreign or international students and PhDs we
1.1.2 The students’ educational profile
mean foreigners who have come to Norway with
the primary purpose of studying. Exchange students are not the focus of this study.
2
We observe in total 14 941 international students
and PhDs in our data sample, covering the period
1991-2011. Of these 10 312 have completed a
The results of this statistical study are summarised
Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree. The remain-
below:
ing 4 629 started their education in 2009 or earlier
and are still registered as active students.
1.1.1 Characteristics of the international students and PhDs in Norway
Of the total group of international students (including the PhDs) the share of PhD-level graduates is
48 pct. of all international students who have come
to Norway to study for a degree since 1991 are
from other Nordic countries or other countries in
the European Economic Area. However, students
from Asia and other parts of the world (i.e. Africa,
Oceania and South America) also make up a large
group (37 pct.). The PhDs are mainly coming from
an EEA country (32 pct.) or from Asia (23 pct.).
relatively large (19 pct.). This is a much larger
share than for the total group of Norwegian students, with a share of PhDs of only 2 pct. The
share of international students who have completed a Master’s degree is also relatively high, compared to the Norwegian students where a Bachelor’s degree is the preferred level for education for
77 pct. of the students.
The student group from Asia has experienced a
rapid growth, from 11 pct. before 2000 to 33 pct.
after 2008. In the same period the group of Nordic
students has declined almost to the same extent.
The distribution among fields of education is not
very different between the international students
and their Norwegian equals. The international degree students also come to Norway to study a wide
The sample also covers 3 438 active and former
variety of disciplines. A majority of the international
students and PhDs who have changed their citi-
students study within the fields of “Humanities, arts
zenship to Norwegian since 1991. Most of the
and education” and “Social sciences, law and
ones who have changed their citizenship were ei-
business”.
ther from Asia, Africa or a European country outside the EEA.
This is however a different picture for the foreign
PhDs. For 59 pct. the preferred field of study is
There are many more males (63 pct.) than females
(37 pct.) who have studied for a PhD degree in
Norway since 1991. It is quite the opposite for foreign students studying for a Bachelor’s or Master’s
“Natural science and technical subjects”. This is a
much larger share than for the Norwegian PhDs
where 38 pct. study “Natural science and technical
subjects”
degree. Here the share of males is only 42 pct.
The three most “popular” universities among the
international PhDs are NTNU, UiO and UiB. It is
interesting to see that the University of Tromsø is
2
attracting a significant share of the foreign PhDs
See the appendix for a more detailed explanation of the definitions
used in this study
(10 pct.), and with these four universities we have
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
5
accounted for almost 90 pct. of the international
port service activities”. Between 20 and 22 pct. find
PhDs.
their first job in this sector.
1.1.3 International students and PhDs’ access
to the Norwegian labour market
Of the 8 309 international Bachelor’s and Master’s
students, who have finished their education in the
period 1993-2010, 5 333 or more than 60 pct. still
live in Norway. 5 033 of the graduated international
students have been employed in Norway for one
year or more and 4 196 were registered as employed in Norway in 2010. Of the 2 003 PhDs in
our sample, 932 have been employed in Norway
after graduation, whereas 757 were registered as
employed in 2010.
Of the 5 033 international students, who have been
employed in Norway after their graduation, as
many as 3 059 (about 60 pct.) got their first job in
the Eastern part of the country, of which more than
half were working in Oslo. The second most “popular” region seems to be the Western part of Nor-
Both the public sector and the communication and
support service sector have seen an increase in
the employment of foreign students over the last
two decades. At the same time there has been a
steady decrease in the employment of foreign students in other private sectors, i.e. industry, trade,
accommodation and food service. For the foreign
PhDs we see a similar picture. In the three time
periods the share of PhDs employed in the public
sector varies between 54 and 62 pct. A closer look
at the public sector showed that most of the international students were (or are) employed within
the health sector.
Of the international PhDs employed in the public
sector, more than 60 pct. got their first job within
teaching and education. The PhDs working within
this sector are working in the four cities Tromsø,
Trondheim, Bergen and Oslo. A slightly higher
share of the international PhDs got their first job in
way, and in this region Bergen accounts for ap-
the industry sector, compared to the Bachelor’s
proximately 40 pct. and Stavanger 18 pct.
and Master’s students. However, here the decrease in this sector’s share is larger, that is from
Most of the international PhDs get their first job in
11 pct. in 2002 to 4 pct. in 2010.
the same regions as the international students.
However, a relatively large share of the PhDs also
finds their first job in Trøndelag (the Middle part of
Norway). This is the same region as NTNU is located. Oslo accounts for about 66 pct. of the PhDs
who get their first job in the Eastern part of Norway, Bergen 71 pct. and Stavanger 14 pct. of the
In addition, we observe that the increase in the
public sectors’ inclusion of foreign PhDs especially
takes place within the health sector, which increased its share of the public sector employees
from 22 to 27 pct. in the period between 1998 and
2010.
ones in the Western part and Trondheim 95 pct. of
the PhDs who get their first job in Trøndelag.
The employment structure of the foreign PhDs
graduating in Norway is much thinner than for the
Most of the foreign students (between 58 and 63
pct.) find their first job within the public sector, primarily in the health sector or within teaching and
education. The other large employment sector for
international students is “communication and sup-
6
international students. Several big private sectors
have had employment of foreign PhDs in such a
small scale that it is not even possible to register.
This is the case for construction, domestic trade,
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
accommodation and food service activities and
background from natural science or technical sub-
transportation sectors.
jects.
For the students and PhDs who got their first job
after graduation in the period between 2003 and
1.1.4 A profile of the foreign high-skilled workers coming to Norway
2010 we are able to check the educational requirement of their occupation. We find that 72 pct.
of the international students and 94 pct. of the
PhDs have occupations that require higher educa-
The study shows that there has been a steep increase in the number of foreign high-skilled workers coming to Norway to work since 2003 (from
560 individuals in 2003 to 3 596 individuals in
tion in their first year as employed after graduation.
2010). The large majority of the foreign high-skilled
Looking at the full-time employees, it seems that
international students tend to earn more than Norwegian students in their first job, whereas Norwegian PhDs earn more than their international colleagues in their first job. If we look at the average
income one year after first employment we see
that the international students still have a higher
income on average than the Norwegian students.
By the same measure, the Norwegian PhDs still
workers coming to Norway are from Nordic and
EEA-countries. Compared with the origin of the
international students and PhDs, we do not see the
same tendency here that foreign high-skilled workers come from Asia. The large majority of the foreign high-skilled workers are men and most of
them are not married. We do not see the same
unequal distribution among the international students and PhDs.
earn more than the foreign PhDs.
The foreign high-skilled workers live and work in
Our results imply that the income gap between the
two groups narrow over time. After five years their
more or less the same parts of Norway as the international students who have graduated in Norway. The foreign high-skilled workers, on average,
yearly income is almost at the same level.
tend to work more than the international students
Looking at the difference in income between the
and PhDs.
same two groups (excluding employees with a
Bachelor’s degree) with respect to field of education, we see that Norwegian students with an education in humanities, arts or education are the only
ones who have a higher income than the international students one year after first employment. For
both groups of students the income varies with
educational background and it is on average highest for the employees with an education in health,
welfare or sports. The difference between the in-
Foreign high-skilled workers with an occupational
status as “professionals” or “technicians and associate professionals” have a higher income on average than the international Master’s and Bachelor’s
graduates taking their first Norwegian job, but a
much lower income than the international and
Norwegian PhDs.
1.1.5 Profile of students and PhDs leaving
Norway
ternational and Norwegian students is largest for
the ones with an education in health, welfare or
Of the 8 309 international Bachelor’s and Master’s
sports. We also observe that the difference is rela-
students, who have finished their education in
tively large for the graduates with an educational
Norway in the period 1991-2011, 2 976 have left
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
7
Norway. And of a total of 2 003 international PhDs,
Further, Norway has invested in the international
who have finished their education in Norway in the
students by offering them an education, and the
same period, a little more than half or 1 053 per-
students have already spent years getting familiar
sons have left Norway.
with the Norwegian society and hopefully socialising with Norwegians. As such the internationals
The largest groups of international graduates that
students should be easier to integrate in the work
have left Norway after their studies come from
force as global talents.
countries in Africa, South America and Oceania. A
larger share of the students from these countries
Thus, it will make good sense to focus more on
leaves Norway than their share of the students
getting these students to stay in Norway instead of
coming to Norway.
primarily prioritising the inflow of foreign high
skilled labour, who will have a longer period of
The share of students that leaves after graduation
adapting to Norwegian way of working and living
is much larger within the group of singles. There is
as oppose to the students who have been here at
also a relatively larger share within the group of
least for two years.
Master’s and PhD degree students that are leaving
than in the group of Bachelor’s. A larger share
within the group of natural science students are
leaving than in the other fields of study. The majority of the international students and PhDs that
have left Norway have never been employed in
Norway after graduation.
1.1.6 The future attraction of global talents to
Norway
Whereas the level of international students getting
a job after graduation in Norway has increased
with a factor three from 2003 to 2010, the level of
foreign high skilled workers has increased with a
factor seven. As such there are more than three
times as many foreign high skilled workers getting
a job in Norway in 2010 compared to international
students. There is thus a large potential in having
more international students joining the work force
in Norway after their graduation. One could also
ask if it would be a better investment to have more
international students staying on and work in Norway after graduation than having to search abroad
for high skilled workers.
8
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2
What characterise the global talents coming to Norway?
2.1
Introduction
The PhDs are mainly from an EEA country or Asia.
In addition, one fifth of the PhDs are from other
In this chapter we want to use the statistical (regis-
continents such as Africa and South America.
ter-based) data to look more into what characterise
the foreign students and PhDs who have come to
3
Norway during the last two decades .
TABLE 2.2
Origin of international students and PhDs who
have completed a degree. Percent
Students
N=5 820
PhDs
N=1 765
Nordic countries
31
15
EEA countries
22
32
Other European countries
12
7
tries in the European Economic Area (EEA). How-
North America
4
3
ever, students from Asia and other parts of the
Asia
15
23
Other
16
20
Total
100
100
2.2
Origin of international students and PhDs
The statistical data shows that most international
students who come to Norway to study for a degree are from other Nordic countries or other coun-
world (i.e. Africa, Oceania and South America) also make up a large group.
TABLE 2.1
Origin of international students and PhDs
Region
1)
Note 1): The regions are mutually exclusive
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
Number of
students
Pct.
Nordic countries
2 737
24
EEA countries
2 808
24
Other European countries
1 305
11
rapid growth, from 11 pct. before 2000 to 33 pct.
419
4
after 2008. In the same period the group of Nordic
Asia
2 356
21
Other
1 878
16
ropean, North America and Other) have been fairly
Total
11 503
100
modest (see FigurE 2.1 on the next page).
1)
Region
Studying the changes in origin of the international
students over time it becomes clear that especially
North America
the student group from Asia has experienced a
students has declined by almost the same extent.
The changes in the other groups (EEA, Other Eu-
Note 1): The regions are mutually exclusive
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
More than half of the international students, who
4
have completed a degree , are from a Nordic
country (excluding Norway) or other EEA countries. For the foreign PhDs, who also have completed a degree the picture is somewhat different.
3
Our data covers the period from 1991 to 2011
We cannot say with certainty that they have completed their degree in
Norway
4
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9
FIGURE 2.1
1)
2)
Changes in origin over time. Percent. 1991-2009
TABLE 2.3
Origin of international students and PhDs who now
are Norwegian citizens
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Number of
students
Pct.
Nordic countries
97
3
EEA countries
362
11
Other European countries
794
23
6
0
1 214
35
Other
965
28
Total
3 438
100
Region
1)
North America
Asia
Before 2000 (N=2844)
Note 1): The regions are mutually exclusive
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
2000-2007 (N=6340)
2008-2009 (N=2319)
Note 1): Based on when they have started their studies in Norway
Note 2): Students who have started their studies after 2009 are excluded
due to our definition of exchange students (see appendix for a more
detailed explanation)
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
2.3
More female students, less female PhDs
It is interesting to observe that there are many
more males than females who study for a PhD in
Norway. It is quite the opposite for foreign students
In addition to the 11 503 international students and
PhDs who still are foreign citizens (cf. Feil! Fant
studying for a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.
ikke referansekilden.) our sample covers 3 438
TABLE 2.4
Sex and marital status of the international students
and PhDs who have completed a degree. Percent
active and former students and PhDs who have
changed their citizenship to Norwegian. Most of
Students
N=8 309
PhDs
N=2 003
Share male
42
63
Share female
58
37
1)
44
45
47
51
the ones who have changed their citizenship were
either from Asia, Africa (included in the group “other”) or a European country outside the EEA prior to
becoming Norwegian citizens.
Share single
Share married
1)
Note 1): For the variable marital status N=8 002 for students and
N=1 821 for PhDs. Share of single and married does not sum up to 100
due to excluded categories
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
When it comes to marital status this is the international students and PhDs’ marital status the year of
graduation. For both groups the share of married
10
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
individuals is slightly higher than the share of sin-
and business”. The distribution among fields of
gles. Among the Norwegian students about 75
education is not very different between the interna-
percent are still single when they graduate com-
tional students and their Norwegian equals.
pared to 51 percent of the Norwegian PhDs.
Looking closer at the latter group it turns out that
2.4
Educational background
57 percent of the students in this group have studied “business and administration”. For about 70
We observe in total 14 941 international students
percent of the students within “business and ad-
and PhDs in our data, of which 10 312 have com-
ministration” a Bachelor’s degree is their highest
pleted a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD degree. The
level of education.
remaining 4 629 started their education in 2009 or
earlier and are still registered as active students.
The rest of the group “Social sciences, law and
5
business” is to a large extent covered by the social
It is especially interesting to observe that of the
sciences political science and economics and 60
total group of international students (including the
percent of these students have a Master’s degree.
PhDs) the share of PhD-level graduates is relatively large (19 pct.). This is much larger than for the
total group of Norwegian students. Compared to
the Norwegian students the share of international
students who have completed a Master’s degree is
also relatively high.
TABLE 2.5
Level of education for international students and
PhDs who have completed a degree. Percent
TABLE 2.6
Field of education for international students and
PhDs who have completed a degree. Percent
Education
(groups)
Natural science and
technical subjects
Social sciences, law
and business
Health, welfare and
sports
Humanities, arts and
education
Students
N=8 309
PhDs
N=2 003
20
59
29
9
19
22
28
6
Level of
education
International
N=10 312
Norwegian
N=475 160
Bachelor’s
degree
48
77
Other
4
4
Master’s degree
33
21
Total
100
100
PhD
19
2
Total
100
100
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
For the foreign PhD-students the preferred field of
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
study is “Natural science and technical subjects”
followed by “Health, welfare and sports”. The share
The international degree students come to study a
of international PhDs within the former group is
wide variety of disciplines. A majority of the inter-
much higher than the share of Norwegian PhDs
national students study within the fields of “Human-
within the same group (38 pct.).
ities, arts and education” and “Social sciences, law
Of the 59 percent who have a PhD in “Natural science and technical subjects” about one fifth have a
5
We cannot tell whether they graduated in 2011 or not since that is the
last year in our data
PhD in biology, physics or chemistry, whereas 15
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
11
percent (about 200 individuals) have a PhD in
2.5
Settling down in Norway
technical subjects (e.g. mechanical engineering).
Most of the students and PhDs who settle down
Of the 440 international PhDs (22 pct.) who have a
and take on their first job in Norway do so in the
degree within “Health, welfare and sports” approx-
Eastern part of Norway (including Oslo). This is
imately 90 percent have a medical degree (77 pct.)
especially the case for the international students.
or a dentistry degree (12 pct.).
Of the 5 033 international students, who have been
The three most “popular” universities among the
6
employed in Norway at one point in time after
international PhDs are NTNU, UiO and UiB. It is
graduation, as many as 3 059 (about 60 pct.) got
also interesting to see that the University of Trom-
their first job in the Eastern part of the country, of
sø is attracting many foreign PhDs (10 pct.), and
which more than half were working in Oslo. The
with these four universities we have accounted for
second most “popular” region seems to be the
almost 90 percent of the international PhDs.
Western part of Norway, and in this region Bergen
accounts for approximately 40 percent and Sta-
For the international students it is interesting to
vanger 18 percent.
note that most of them obtain a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree from the University of Oslo (22 pct.) or
Among the international PhDs most get their first
they are distributed widely across different Norwe-
job in the same regions as the international stu-
gian universities and university colleges (56 pct.).
dents. However, a relatively large share of the
PhDs finds their first job in Trøndelag (the Middle
FIGURE 2.2
Educational institutions for international students
and PhDs who have completed a degree. Percent
part of Norway). This is the same region as NTNU
is located. Oslo accounts for about 66 percent of
the PhDs who get their first job in the Eastern part
of Norway, Bergen 71 percent and Stavanger 14
60
percent of the ones in the Western part and
50
Trondheim 95 percent of the PhDs who get their
first job in Trøndelag (see FigurE 2.3 on the next
40
page).
30
20
10
0
NTNU
UiO
UiB
Students (N=8206)
UiT
UMB
Other
PhDs (N=2003)
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
6
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, University of Oslo
and University of Bergen
12
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
FIGURE 2.3
Parts of Norway where international students and
PhDs take their first job after graduation. Percent
East
West
North
Middle (Trøndelag)
South (Agder)
0
10
20
Students (N=5033)
30
40
50
60
70
PhDs (N=932)
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
13
3
Access to and mobility at the Norwegian labour market
3.1
Introduction
More than half of the international PhDs in our
sample have left Norway. Out of the 2 003 PhDs in
In this chapter we analyse how many of the inter-
our sample, 932 have been employed in Norway
national students and PhDs stay in Norway after
after graduation, whereas 757 were registered as
they graduate and their access to and mobility at
employed in 2010.
8
the job market.
3.2
Employment sector
Of the 8 309 international Bachelor’s and Master’s
students, who have finished their education in the
In this section we will present in which sectors the
period 1993-2010, 5 333 have no emigration date.
international students and PhDs got their first job
That is, more than 60 percent of these students
after graduation. Our sector groups are based on
still live in Norway.
the
Standard
Industry
Classifications
SIC94,
SIC2002 and SIC2007.
Regardless of whether they have left Norway or
not, 5 033 of the graduated international students
Of the international students and PhDs, 248 were
have been employed in Norway for one year or
employed before 1998. These individual are not
more and 4 196 were registered as employed in
included below due to too few observations within
7
2010 .
most of the sector groups.
7
8
This is the last year in the employment statistics
Of the 1 053 who have emigrated 121 did so in 2011
TABLE 3.1
Sector of first job in Norway for international students. Percent
Employed between
1998-2002
N=782
Employed between
2003-2007
N=1 926
Employed between
2008-2010
N=2 100
Primary industry
1
0
0
Industry and more
6
6
6
Construction
…
1
1
Domestic trade and more
7
6
5
Accommodation and food service activities
5
3
3
Transportation
2
2
2
Communication and support service activities
20
21
21
IKT services (share of communication etc.)
16
18
18
Other (share of communication etc.)
84
82
82
58
59
62
Education (share of public)
30
30
29
Human health (share of public)
45
51
50
Other (share of public)
25
19
21
Sector
(groups)
Public administration and more
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
14
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
As illustrated in Table 3.11, the statistical analysis
subsector in Table 3.11. The rest of the employees
shows that most of the foreign students (between
within communication and support services are
58 and 63 pct.) who stay on in Norway to work af-
distributed among several other sectors, such as
ter graduation find their first job within the public
architectural activities, research and development,
sector, primarily in the health sector or within
post and telecommunications, labour recruitment
teaching and education.
of personnel and industrial cleaning.
The other large sector for international students to
Both the public sector and the communication and
find their first job is “communication and support
support service sector have seen an increase in
service activities” (between 20 and 22 pct.). Look-
the employment of foreign students over the last
ing closer at this sector group in the period be-
two decades. At the same time there has been a
tween 1998 and 2007 it is apparent that “computer
steady decrease in the employment of foreign stu-
and related services” and “other business activi-
dents in other private sectors, i.e. industry, trade,
ties” accounts for about 75 percent of the individu-
accommodation and food service, etc.
als who were employed in “communication and
support service activities”.
For the foreign PhDs we see a similar picture. In
the three time periods the share of PhDs employed
However, we only emphasize on IKT services as a
in the public sector varies between 54 and 62 per-
TABLE 3.2
Sector of first job in Norway for international PhDs. Percent
Employed between
1998-2002
N=112
Employed between
2003-2007
N=376
Employed between
2008-2010
N=421
Primary industry
0
0
0
Industry and more
11
7
4
Construction
0
0
0
Domestic trade and more
…
…
…
Accommodation and food service activities
0
…
…
Transportation
0
…
0
Communication and support service activities
34
29
36
IKT services (share of communication etc.)
16
13
13
R&D (share of communication etc.)
71
59
63
Other (share of communication etc.)
13
28
24
54
62
59
Education (share of public)
65
69
67
Human health (share of public)
22
26
27
Other (share of public)
13
5
6
Sector
(groups)
Public administration and more
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
15
cent. A closer look at the public sector showed that
For the students and PhDs who got their first job
most of the international students were (or are)
after graduation in the period between 2003 and
employed within the health sector. Of the 421
2010 we are able to check the educational re-
PhDs, who got their first job between 2008 and
quirement of their occupation. This will to some
2010, about 30 percent of the international PhDs
degree tell us whether they use their education or
(employed in the public sector) were employed in
not.
the same sector.
The categories “professionals” and “technicians
Of the international PhDs employed in the public
and associate professionals” in Table 3.3 requires
sector, more than 60 percent got their first job with-
at least a Bachelor’s degree (i.e. education from
in teaching and education. The PhDs working with-
either a university college or university). Adding up
in this sector are working in Tromsø, Trondheim,
these two categories we see that 72 percent of the
Bergen and Oslo.
international students and 94 percent of the PhDs
have occupations that require higher education
A slightly higher share of the international PhDs
their first year as employed after graduation.
got their first job in the industry sector, compared
to the Bachelor’s and Master’s students. However,
here the decrease in this sector’s share is larger,
that is from 11 percent in 2002 to 4 percent in
TABLE 3.3
Occupational status of first job in Norway for international students and PhDs. Percent
Classification of occu1)
pation
Students
N=2 928
PhDs
N=686
Managers (CEOs etc.)
4
1
takes place within the health sector, which in-
Professionals
34
85
creases its share of the public sector employees
Technicians and associate professionals
38
9
Clerks
6
…
11
…
0
0
1
0
2
1
4
2
100
100
2010.
In addition, we observe that the increase in the
public sectors’ inclusion of foreign PhDs especially
from 22 to 27 percent in the period between 1998
and 2010.
the foreign PhDs graduating in Norway is much
Sales and service occupations
Agricultural, forestry
and fishery workers
thinner than for the international students. It is in-
Artisans
teresting to see that several big private sectors
Machine operators
etc.
Elementary occupations
It should be noted that the employment structure of
have had employment of foreign PhDs in such a
small scale that it is not possible to register here.
This is the case for construction, domestic trade,
Total
accommodation and food service activities and
transportation sectors.
Note 1): Missing observations occur for this variable, thus the number of
students and PhDs does not sum up to all who were employed between
2003 and 2010
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
A smaller share of the Norwegian students has an
occupational status as “professionals” (24 pct.),
16
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
9
whereas a slightly higher share of the Norwegian
ployed after graduation. The table below show the
PhDs has this status (87 pct.), compared to the
distribution in working hours for the international
international graduates. Approximately 45 percent
students and PhDs.
of the Norwegian graduates with a Bachelors’ or
Masters’ degree are employed as “technicians and
associate professionals” in their first job.
TABLE 3.4
Working hours per week in their first job. Percent
Students
N=5 017
PhDs
N=932
1-19 hours
20
10
20-29 hours
10
3
30 or more hours
70
87
Total
100
100
Working hours
3.3
Employment status and working hours
In the next section we have chosen to focus on the
international and Norwegian graduates who work
full-time (more than 30 hours per week) and who
have a status as “employed” (as opposed to “selfemployed”).
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
FIGURE 3.1
Socioeconomic status of international students and
1)
PhDs one year after graduation. Percent
3.4
Average income in their first job
Through the statistical study we have also ana-
100
lysed the average income that foreign and Norwe-
90
gian students and PhDs earn in their first job after
80
graduation. Our income measure covers working
70
income, as well as net entrepreneurial income and
60
some social benefits. As a consequence of this, we
50
have chosen to limit our sample to only employees
40
in this section (as mentioned in the previous sec-
30
tion). Looking at the full-time employees, it seems
20
that international students tend to earn more than
10
Norwegian students in their first job, whereas Norwegian PhDs earn more than their international
0
Students (N=5028)
colleagues in their first job (see Table 3.5 on the
PhDs (N=932)
next page).
Others
Retirees and pensioners
Self-employed other industries
Self-employed primary industry
Employed
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
Compared to the Norwegian students and PhDs a
9
slightly smaller share of the international students
and PhDs has a full-time job their first year as em-
The first year as employed after graduation can be no earlier than the
year after the last year as an active student, i.e. if they graduate in 2000
we count their job in 2001 as their first job (if employed in 2001)
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
17
TABLE 3.5
Average income in first job for international and
1)
Norwegian students. In NOK (at constant 2012
prices)
Bachelor’s Master’s
PhD
degree
degree
degree
International
370 300
363 900
469 800
graduates
Norwegian
313 700
324 200
487 200
graduates
TABLE 3.6
Average income one year after first employment
1)
for international and Norwegian students. In NOK
(at constant 2012 prices)
Bachelor’s Master’s
PhD
degree
degree
degree
International
420 200
461 200
532 100
graduates
Norwegian
386 100
456 600
539 600
graduates
Note 1): To balance the data we have removed the bottom 5 and top 5
percent of the income variable before calculating the mean
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
Note 1): To balance the data we have removed the bottom 5 and top 5
percent of the income variable before calculating the mean
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
If we look at the average income one year after
If we look at median income one year after em-
employment we see that the international students
ployment for international and Norwegian gradu-
still have a higher income on average but that the
ates across educational level the picture is mainly
level of all students’ income is higher (cf. Table
the same, only the difference between international
3.6). Still the Norwegian PhDs earn more than the
Masters’ and Norwegian Masters’ students is
foreign PhDs.
somewhat smaller and the difference between the
PhDs larger. For all groups the median income is
The results in Table 3.5 show that the international
lower than the average.
students with a Master’s degree on average actually earn less than the ones with a Bachelor’s de-
Section 2.4 showed that the international students
gree in their first job. However, there are reasons
on average have a higher level of education than
to believe that the figures presented in the table
the Norwegians. Thus, when we now go on to look
below are more reliable and that the Master’s stu-
at the development in income over time we have
dents in fact have a higher starting salary.
10
chosen to exclude the Bachelor’s students in order
to make the two groups more similar with respect
to educational level.
11
10
One plausible explanation for the changes in the level of income is that
the graduates do not work the whole year in their first job after graduation. Part of the differences in the income level between the two periods
may also be due to regular raises
18
11
The two groups are still not perfectly comparable due to a higher share
of individuals with a PhD degree among the international students. Of the
foreign students who either have a Master’s or PhD degree (and are or
have been working in Norway) 35 percent are PhD-level graduates,
whereas 7 percent of the Norwegian students (Bachelor’s students excluded) have the same level of education
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
In addition to being the education category where
FIGURE 3.2
Development in average income for graduated international and Norwegian Master’s and PhD stu1)
dents. In NOK per year (at constant 2012 prices)
the income is on average highest, the difference
between the international and Norwegian students
is largest for the ones with an education in health,
700000
welfare or sports.
600000
TABLE 3.7
Average income one year after first employment
for international and Norwegian Master’s and PhD
1)
students, after educational background. In NOK
(at constant 2012 prices)
500000
400000
300000
200000
Natural science and
technical subjects
Social sciences, law
and business
Health, welfare and
sports
Humanities, arts and
education
100000
0
1 year after
employment
3 years after
employment
International students
5 years after
employment
Norwegian students
Other
Note 1): To balance the data we have removed the bottom 5 and top 5
percent of the income variable before calculating the mean
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
We can see that the foreign students start out with
2)
International
graduates
Norwegian
graduates
474 900
460 300
466 400
455 600
601 500
534 000
390 200
402 900
429 200
436 000
Note 1): To balance the data we have removed the bottom 5 and top 5
percent of the income variable before calculating the mean
Note 2): Average income for international students in this category is
based on 32 observations (i.e. a relatively small group)
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
a higher income on average than their Norwegian
equals, but also that the gap between the two
As we will show later, the majority of the interna-
groups narrow over time. After five years their
tional students and PhDs who leave Norway have
yearly income is almost at the same level.
never been employed in Norway after graduation.
Further, most of the graduates who stay get a job
Looking at the difference in income between the
within one year after graduation. One may be con-
same two groups (i.e. still excluding employees
cerned that there is some kind of selection bias in
with a Bachelor’s degree) with respect to field of
the income figures presented in this chapter,
education, we see that Norwegian students with an
meaning that the international graduates we ob-
education in humanities, arts or education (and
serve working in Norway after graduation are sub-
Norwegian graduates in the category “other”) are
stantially different from the Norwegian graduates
the only ones that have a higher income than the
with respect to individual characteristics (e.g. abili-
international students one year after employment.
ties etc.).
For both groups of students the income varies with
If we only compare average income for those
educational background and it is on average high-
graduates that got a job within one year after com-
est for the employees with an education in health,
welfare or sports.
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
19
pleting their studies, the picture is still the “same”
as in Table 3.6.
12
The relative difference in aver-
age income varies if we divide the graduates into
groups depending on when they get their first job
and if we look at average incomes across sectors.
However, it seems that regardless of how we
choose to divide the graduates into groups, the
international Bachelors’ and Masters’ students
have a slightly higher average income than their
Norwegian counterparts.
It is important to emphasise that what we present
in these tables are simply summary statistics, and
that they do not explain the differences we observe. One cannot conclude from this that being an
international graduate, working in Norway, itself
leads to higher income. There is reason to believe
that the foreign students coming to Norway to take
a degree are in many aspects different than the
Norwegian students studying in Norway. However,
we do not have any measures of ability (e.g.
grades, IQ etc.) and controlling for all this requires
a far more extensive analysis.
12
The share of international and Norwegian graduates that got a job
within one after graduation is approximately the same.
20
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
4
The foreign high-skilled workers coming to Norway
4.1
Who are the foreign high-skilled workers
The variable “occupational status” is only available
from 2003 to 2010 in our data. As illustrated in
In the previous chapter we used the occupational
FigurE 4.2 below there has been a steep increase
status of the graduates to see if they have relevant
in the number of foreign high-skilled workers com-
occupations with respect to their level of education.
ing to Norway to work since 2003 (from 560 in
By using this variable we can also identify foreign-
2003 to 3 596 individuals in 2010).
ers who have come to Norway to work and that
assumingly have a higher education. In this chapter we will look at what characterise the foreign
high-skilled work force, defined as the part of the
foreigners with an occupational status as “managers”, “professionals” or “technicians and associate
professionals”. In addition, we have only focused
FIGURE 4.2
Year of immigration for foreign high-skilled workers
in Norway. 2003-2010
4000
3500
3000
on the individuals who get a job the same year as
2500
they are coming to Norway.
FIGURE 4.1
Occupational status of the foreign high-skilled labour force in Norway.
2000
1500
1000
500
8%
0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
47 %
Number of foreign high-skilled workers
45 %
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
The large majority of the foreign high-skilled workers coming to Norway are from Nordic and EEAcountries. Compared with the origin of the internaManagers (CEOs etc.) (N=1303)
tional students and PhDs, we do not see the same
Professionals (N=7455)
tendency here that foreign high-skilled workers
Technicicians and associate professionals (N=7636)
come from Asia, although 9 per cent come from
this region. A small group of the foreign high-
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
skilled workers included in our sample are now
Norwegian citizens.
We see that about half of these workers are either
occupied in a position that normally requires at
least four years of higher education (“professionals”) or as managers.
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
21
We see that the share of foreign high-skilled workTABLE 4.1
Origin of foreign high-skilled workers in Norway
Number of
workers
Pct.
76
0
Nordic countries
5 426
33
EEA countries
7 081
43
Other European countries
603
4
North America
737
5
1 522
9
Other
949
6
Total
16 394
100
Region
1)
Now Norwegian citizens
ers who settle down in this region is almost as high
(54 pct.). However, a larger share of the foreign
workers settles down in the Western part of the
country (29 pct. versus 20 pct. for the international
students).
FIGURE 4.3
Region of residence for foreign high-skilled workers in Norway. Per cent.
East
Asia
West
Middle (Trøndelag)
North
Note 1): The regions are mutually exclusive
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
South (Agder)
0
We find that the majority of the foreign high-skilled
10
20
30
40
50
60
workers are men and that most of them are not
married. We do not see the same unequal distribu-
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
tion among the international students and PhDs.
4.2
TABLE 4.2
Characteristics of foreign high-skilled workers in
Norway. Percent
Foreign high-skilled
workers
N=16 394
In the coming two sections we will look at in what
sectors the foreign high-skilled workers get their
first job when coming to Norway and their income.
Again, when we report the average income for the
Share male
65
different groups of foreign workers we limit our
Share female
35
sample to the ones who work full-time.
1)
61
Share single
Share married
1)
35
Note 1): This is based on their marital status one year after immigration.
Share of single and married does not sum up to 100 due to excluded
categories
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
It seems that the foreign high-skilled workers, on
average, tend to work more than the international
students and PhDs in their first job.
The data shows that the foreign high-skilled workers live and work in more or less the same parts of
Norway as the international graduates. Of the international students and PhDs 59 percent got their
first job in the Eastern part of Norway (including
Oslo).
22
Access to the Norwegian labour market
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
dents and PhDs got their first job within the public
TABLE 4.3
Working hours per week in their first job. Percent
Number of
workers
Pct.
1-19 hours
1 046
6
20-29 hours
465
3
30 or more hours
14 883
91
Total
16 394
100
sector. This is not the case for the foreign highskilled workers.
We see that the workers with an occupational status as managers etc. tend to work in different sectors than the two other groups (“professionals” and
“technicians”). About half of the “professionals”
come here to work in the private support service
sector and that a significant share of these individ-
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
uals is employed in engineering activities (technical testing and analysis).
Regardless of occupational status, our data show
that the foreign high-skilled workers coming to
Norway finds work in a larger variety of sectors
Further, the share of foreign high-skilled workers
than the graduated international students and
within the industry sector, transportation and do-
PhDs. More than half of both the international stu-
mestic trade is much higher than what we observed for the international graduates.
TABLE 4.4
Sector of first job for foreign high-skilled workers in Norway. Percent
Managers
(N=1303)
Professionals
(N=7455)
Technicians and associate professionals
(N=7636)
Primary industry
2
0
1
Industry and more
21
13
17
Petroleum and gas (share of industry)
21
53
28
Other (share of industry)
79
47
72
Construction
5
1
1
Domestic trade and more
23
5
7
Accommodation and food service activities
10
0
1
Sector
(groups)
Transportation
5
1
4
Communication and support service activities
25
45
37
Engineering (share of communication etc.)
10
24
25
Other (share of communication etc.)
90
76
75
9
35
32
Education (share of public)
21
52
21
Human health (share of public)
22
33
37
Culture and sports (share of public)
32
5
33
Other (share of public)
25
10
9
1)
Public administration and more
Note 1): Shortening for the sector “Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis”
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013.
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
23
Of the foreign high-skilled workers in the industry
employed after graduation it is clear that the for-
sector, between 21 and 53 percent got their first
eign workers, with assumingly the same level of
job in Norway in the sector “Extraction of crude
education, on average have a higher starting sala-
petroleum and natural gas” and we see that the
ry.
share of foreign workers in this sector is highest for
come one year after first employment.
13
This also holds if we compare average in-
those who workers occupied in a position that
normally requires at least four years of higher edu-
Apart from the “managers” the foreign high-skilled
cation (“professionals”).
workers have a lower income than the international
PhD-level graduates in their first job in Norway.
4.3
Average income first year in Norway
However, this changes after one year. Looking at
average income for the foreign high-skilled workers
Looking at the income the foreign high-skilled
one year after their first employment in Norway
workers get the year they come to Norway we see
(figures not presented here) it is much higher than
that the difference between “professionals” and
what the foreign graduates earn, regardless of ed-
“technicians” is not large, whereas the ones occu-
ucational level.
pied in a managerial position have a much higher
income on average.
FIGURE 4.4
Average income first job in Norway for the foreign
1)
high-skilled workers. In NOK (at constant 2012
prices)
700000
629100
600000
500000
390400
388500
Professionals
Technicians
and associate
professionals
400000
300000
200000
100000
0
Managers
Average yearly income
Note 1): To balance the data we have removed the bottom 5 and top 5
percent of the income variable before calculating the mean
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
13
An occupational status as professional normally requires higher education of a minimum length of 4 years (e.g. approximately equivalent to a
Master’s degree), whereas “technicians and associate professionals”
includes occupations that normally require 1-3 years of higher education
(e.g. comparable to a Bachelor’s degree)
Compared to the income the international Bachelor’s and Master’s students earn their first year as
24
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
5
Profile of the international students and PhDs leaving Norway
5.1
Introduction
from these countries leaves Norway than their
share of students who come to Norway. For Asia,
The aim of this part of the study is to characterise
the Nordic countries and the rest of Europe (both
the international students and PhDs who have
EEA countries and other European countries) it is
graduated in Norway and who are no longer living
the same share coming and leaving or a larger
in Norway.
share coming than leaving.
The statistical study tells us that of a total of 8 309
FIGURE 5.2
Origin of international graduates who has left Norway versus international students coming. Percent
international Bachelor’s and Master’s students,
who have finished their education in Norway in the
period 1991-2011, 2 976 have left Norway.
Other
Of a total of 2 003 international PhDs, who have
Nordic countries
finished their education in Norway in the same pe-
Asia
riod, about half or 1 053 have left Norway.
EEA countries
FIGURE 5.1
Number of years employed after graduation before
leaving Norway. Percent
Other European countries
North America
0 years
0
1 year
Leaving
10
20
30
Coming
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
2 years
3 years or more
0
20
PhDs (N=1053)
40
60
80
100
Students (N=2976)
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
FigurE 5.1 show that the majority of the students
and PhDs who have left have never been employed in Norway after graduation.
5.2
Origin
The largest group of international graduates who
have left Norway come from countries in Africa,
South America and Oceania, i.e. countries in the
group “other”. In fact a larger share of the students
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
25
5.3
The singles leave
We saw that the majority of the foreign high-skilled
workers coming to Norway were single (or at least
FIGURE 5.3
Level of education for all foreign graduates versus
graduates who have left Norway. Percent
60
not married). Looking at the marital status of the
graduates who leave Norway it is apparent that
50
most of them are single. One interpretation of this
is that singles are more mobile.
40
TABLE 5.1
Characteristics of graduates who have left Norway.
Percent
30
20
Graduates who have left
N=4 029
Share male
Share female
46
1)
63
Share single
Share married
1)
0
Bachelor's
degree
34
Note 1): Share of single and married does not sum up to 100 due to
excluded categories
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
5.4
10
54
Level and field of education
Master's degree
International students (total)
PhD
Leavers
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
Looking at the field of education for all the international students who have graduated and those who
If one compares the data for all the international
leave Norway after graduation, it is clear that a
students who have graduated with the students
larger share of the students with a degree in natu-
who have left Norway after graduation it is clear
ral science or technical subjects leave.
that a larger share within the group of Master’s and
PhD degree students are leaving. About half of the
graduated foreign students have either a Master’s
degree or a PhD degree and these two groups of s
make up 67 percent of the graduates who have
left. A smaller share of students in the group of
Bachelor’s is leaving after graduation.
26
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
FIGURE 5.4
Field of study for all foreign graduates versus
1)
graduates who have left Norway. Percent
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
International students (total)
Leavers
Note 1): See previous tables for a full description of subjects within each
group
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
INTEGRATING GLOBAL TALENT IN NORWAY: STATISTICAL REPORT | DAMVAD.COM
27
6
Conclusion on the future for global talent in Norway
6.1
Introduction
FIGUR 6.1
Number of graduating international students who
get a job in Norway.
In this section we discuss briefly the future for
global talents in Norway. We do so by focusing on
1200
the employment of both international students and
foreign high skilled workers in Norway from early in
1000
the 2000s and up till 2010.
800
There is a growing need for inflow of labour in
Norway. Every half year NAV (labour and welfare
600
department) publishes its work force analysis and
the conclusion seems to be the same each time.
There is a need for inflow of labour to Norway.
400
In the autumn of 2007 the analysis showed that 14
200
percent of the companies expected to hire new
0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
foreign workers. Last year 50 000 foreigners were
registers as workers in Norway, and still there is a
Number of students
need for inflow of labour.
6.2
Meeting the demand for labour in Norway
Sources: SSB and DAMVAD 2013
One way of meeting the demand for labour is by
Previously, in Chapter 4 (Figure 4.2) we described
hiring graduating international students.
how the level of foreign high skilled workers has
risen from around 500 in 2003 to 3 500 in 2010. In
Figure 6.1 show that the number of international
other terms, the level of foreign high skilled work-
students who get a job in Norway after graduation
ers has 7 doubled from 2003 to 2010.
has increased significantly the past decade.
Both international students and foreign high skilled
Whereas in 2003 about 300 of the graduating in-
workers are channels of meeting the demand for
ternational students were rewarded with a job, the
labour in Norway.
figure has risen to almost 1 000 in 2010.
But whereas the level of international students getting a job after graduation have increased with a
factor three from 2003 to 2010, the level of foreign
high skilled workers have increased with a factor
seven. As such there are more than three times as
many foreign high skilled workers getting a job in
Norway in 2010 compared to international students.
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There is thus a large potential in having more international students joining the work force in Norway after their graduation. One could also ask if it
would be a better investment to have more international students staying on and working in Norway
after graduation than having to search abroad for
high skilled workers.
Further, Norway has invested in the international
students by offering them an education, and the
students have already spent years getting familiar
with Norwegian society and hopefully socialising
with Norwegians. As such the internationals students should be easier to integrate in the work
force as global talents.
It will make good sense to focus more on getting
these students to stay in Norway instead of primarily prioritising the inflow of foreign high skilled
labour, who will have a longer period of adapting to
Norwegian way of working and living as oppose to
the students who have been here at least for two
years.
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29
Appendix 1
Approach and methodology
The statistical study focuses on foreign students
as active student in Norway (sometime be-
and doctoral students and compares the character-
tween 1991 and 2011) at level 6, 7 or 8
istics of these two groups with the group of foreign

14
The person must be a foreign citizen and have
high-skilled labour. Below we go through the main
moved to Norway maximum one year before
questions and clarifications in regard to methodol-
starting the education.
ogy, approach and definitions.
restriction we can assume that they came with
15
By imposing the latter
the primary purpose of studying
6.2.1 Definitions

The person must not be an exchange student,
i.e. the person must be registered for more
The definition of foreign students has traditionally
than two periods in the education statistics
been associated with some challenges. One of the
challenges is that since 2009 persons from
EU/EEA countries have not been obliged to apply
Based on the above definitions, the international
students and PhDs can be identified.
for residence in Norway to be able to study. This
means that there can be no precise data on how
many foreign students from EU/EEA countries pre-
The definition of foreign high-skilled workers is the
following:
cisely are staying in Norway after 2009.
A classic way to identify the foreign students would

The person must be a foreign citizen

The person must have an occupational status
be through their citizenship as such. However, this
as either “manager”, “professional”, “techni-
is not sufficient since this would then also include
cian” or “associate professional”
persons who are born and raised in Norway, but

still have the nationality of their parents for various
The person must be employed in Norway the
same year as coming to Norway
reasons. This category of students will not be the
focus of the analysis and therefore there is a need
for a different and more valid registration of foreign
students.
In this study we look at the international students
and PhDs’ transition from education to employment. We have chosen to say that one is graduated the last year one appears as active student in
The following criteria are thus set up to ensure that
the foreign students have come to Norway to study
and have not lived in Norway for large parts of their
lives. Also we want to make sure that they are stu-
the educational statistics, thus we have not analysed the transition from education to employment
in periods where they have taken a break from
their education.
dents at higher levels of education that matches
the term global talents. Finally, the definition
should make sure that foreign students are not
only exchange students studying one semester in
Further, the part of the analysis that looks at sector
of first job and income earned the first year as employed uses the first job one year after graduation.
Norway before they go back to Norway. The following definition applies:
14

The person must be enrolled at a Norwegian
institution at least at a university/university col-
Level 6: University or university college, lower level; Level 7: University
or university college, higher level; Level 8: PhD
15
Some of the individual in our sample are now Norwegian citizens but
the definition applied when they first came to Norway. In our data we can
see their citizenship prior to the change of citizenship
lege-level, i.e. the person must be registered
30
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The share of full-time employees increases signifi-
Some individuals appear more than once in the
cantly when using this definition of first job after
data (duplicates). In these cases we have chosen
graduation.
to combine the information in the duplicates and
only keep one.
6.2.2 The timeframe of the statistical analysis
The data set used in this study covers the years
from 1991 to 2011. Due to our definition of international students and PhDs the period between 1993
and 2010 is the relevant period for most of the
analysis.
Students and PhDs only registered as active students in 1991 and 1992 will be excluded as a consequence of the restriction on the number of years
as an active student in Norway.
The students and PhDs registered as active in
2011 may have graduated in 2011 but we do not
know their status in 2012 and they are not included
in our sample.
As can be seen in Appendix 2 the last year in the
employment statistics is 2010. Thus, if a student or
PhD graduated in 2010 we cannot say anything
about his or hers transition into the labour market.
The variable occupational status only covers the
period from 2003 to 2010, thus the analysis of the
foreign high-skilled workers is based on a shorter
period of time than the analysis of the international
students and PhDs.
6.2.3 Population
Our data combines three types of statistics from
Statistics Norway: The population statistics, the
education statistics and the employment statistics
(see Appendix 2 for a detailed list of variables in
each statistic).
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31
Appendix 2
Data sources and variables
Population statistics
Employment statistics
Time period: 1.1.1991-31.12.2011
Time period: 1.1.1991-31.12.2010
st
Date of reference: January 1 each year
Date of reference: One week in November each
Number of observations: 3 967 241
year
Number of observations: 1 920 065 in 1991 up to
Variables:

Sex

Citizenship (now)
2 575 661 in 2010
Variables:

First citizenship (prior to becoming a Norwe-

Municipality of work (each year)
gian citizen)

Employment status (each year)

Country of birth

Sector (SIC-code each year)

Year of birth

Occupational status (each year from 2003)

Year of death

Working hours per week (each year)

Immigration year

Emigration year

Marital status (each year)

Family structure (each year)

Socioeconomic status (each year until 2010)

Income (each year from 1993-2010)
Education statistics
Time period: 1.1.1991-31.12.2011
st
Date of reference: October 1 each year
Number of observations: 1 204 286
Variables:

First time registered in higher education

On-going education (each year)

Educational institution for on-going education
(each year)

Municipality for on-going education (each year)

Completed education (each academic year)

Educational institution for completed education
(each academic year)

Municipality for completed education (each
academic year)

Outcome of completed education (each academic year)

Exchange status (incoming or outgoing exchange student at October 1
st
in the period
2007-2011)
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