This sector hires a wide range of different types of engineers, such as structural, piping, process, electrical and mechanical engineers, etc., as well as workers with skills related to the construction of modules and structural facilities, such as welders, joiners, plumbers, electricians, pipe fitters, iron workers and safety workers.

There is also a high demand for administrative and management personnel within this sector, such as project controllers, project managers, estimators, planners, job setters, buyers and procurement specialists and project economists and accountants.

In this sector there is a strong demand for builders, carpenters, concrete workers, plumbers, electricians, painters and decorators, roofers, as well as project managers, supervisors and safety workers.

Specialist skills and experts in niche technologies or industries are also in high demand, although these are not always advertised. Often a speculative approach to companies which may need such skills will be successful.

It is estimated that over the next two decades this sector will have a shortage of more than 40,000 workers.

At the moment the shortage is being resolved by importing skilled workers from abroad and this is seemingly the only solution for the future because enrollment on health education courses in Norway remains too low to meet the needs of the sector.

For front line staff in bars, restaurants and hotels the industry prefers personnel with some Norwegian language skills or skills in another Scandinavian language.

For back-of-house jobs, such as chefs and kitchen staff, cleaners and porters there are often few language requirements, other than basic English.

…we know of several teachers of specialist subjects, such as dance or other performing arts or crafts who have found work in Norway, or have successfully started their own businesses

Seasonal work ranges from harvesting berries in summer, planting tulips in spring, or ski instructing in the winter.

The agriculture and fishing industries are the main employers of seasonal laborers. Painters and decorators employ workers during the summer months to help paint Norwegian wooden houses, which is the predominant building material outside the city centers in Norway.

Sending an open application with a CV to companies in this sector can often be successful.

The industry requires workers with industrial skills in painting, welding, metal work, electrics, plumbing and various other disciplines. Jobs are sometimes advertised by the yards themselves, but there are also many sub-contractors who carry out work on a contract basis for yards.

The industrial companies are covering sectors such as food processing, wood pulp and paper products, metals, chemicals, timber, mining, textiles and fishing.

Around 20 per cent of the workforce in Norway is employed by companies in these sectors. A number of high-tech companies have established themselves in Norway, in industries such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

Public servants are usually required to speak Norwegian, although there are exceptions and certain specialized professions are open to non-Norwegian speakers.