Students may struggle to find relevant jobs

Labour market leaders are calling for an improved match between education courses and the job market in the Faroes.

Magni á Deild, the head of the ALS employment service, says that people should be free to pick the education they want. However, he adds, since more than half of the Faroese student population studies abroad, they may be reluctant to return home if there are no jobs relevant to their education.

One way to help solve this problem could be to adapt the educational courses available in the Faroes to the job market requirements, he says.

Herálvur Jacobsen, the head of the Teachers’ Association, agrees that there is a mismatch between courses on offer and the demands of the job market.

He proposes that rather than sending newly educated teachers straight into unemployment, the resources should be spent on retraining and further developing the existing teachers’ skills.

According to Jógvan Philbrow, the head of the Pedagogues’ Association, there is a shortage of some 500 pedagogues in areas such as day-care centres and in social agencies.

Philbrow also points out the need for a greater match between the educational courses on offer and the demands of the job market.

Translated by prosa.fo