Career Guidance in the Service of Integration in Norway

Problem representation 1. It takes too much time to mobilise refugees’ skills for the benefit of the Norwegian labour market

This problem representation addresses refugees’ lack of knowledge about how to put their competences into use in ways in which are relevant for the Norwegian labour market and how this prolongs the integration process. In the White Paper 30 (p. 63), career guidance is described as:

Here, we identify a time aspect to integration: newly arrived refugees take too much time to put their existing skills and competence into use in the new country. White Paper 30 frames career guidance as a measure that enables newly arrived refugees to use their time more effectively in the early integration phase. Career guidance is described here as effective for the individual, and a similar reasoning is also seen later in the same document:

The time from when refugees arrive in Norway to when they are employed is considered as a problem. Here, inefficiency is seen at the individual level, and it is the individual refugee’s responsibility to be efficient in their integration process. With support from career guidance, it is expected that refugees will become aware of the relevance of their competence in the Norwegian labour market. We also find a formulation in which career guidance should contribute to a more efficient IP delivery for refugees, thus contributing to the effectivization of integration at a systemic level. In the Government’s Integration Strategy 2019–2022 (p. 27), career guidance is described as a solution to poorly adapted and inflexible qualification programs, as follows: ‘Early competence mapping and career guidance can lead to a more targeted qualification and career choice for the individual and contribute to better adapted measures from the municipality’.

Time perspective also affects career guidance as a service. The Integration Act recommends that career guidance should be provided before the start of the IP. The guidance session should last approximately 1.5 hours, after which the career counsellor is expected to draft a career plan outlining recommended objectives for the induction program. Therefore, career guidance should come early in the integration process, be a short-term offer, and quickly conclude and come with recommended plans for further career progress.

What we also notice is that the term ‘quick’ often appears in arguments promoting career guidance for refugees. In NOU 2016:7’s chapter on career guidance for integration, the term quick appears 24 times in various combinations such as quick work orientation and quicker transition to work. Compared to other chapters addressing various target groups for career guidance, we find the word quickly seven times in the chapter ‘Career-oriented guidance in NAV’ and not at all in the chapter ‘Career guidance in correctional services’. In contrast to other target groups, career guidance for refugees is predominantly viewed as a mechanism for swift entry into the job market. In the same chapter, it is argued that:

Here, career guidance is justified from a socioeconomic perspective in that it will contribute to lower welfare payments.

While the first problem representation addresses how refugees’ limited understanding of labour and education opportunities leads to inefficient integration, the second focuses on deficiencies in their professional competence and social resources in a new country.

Problem representation 2. Refugees are not employable, – yet

The next problem representation we found in several of the documents and research literature is attention to refugees’ deficiencies in navigating their way in the new host country and its system. These deficiencies are mentioned as the reason for the assumed inefficient integration process.

Further, we can read in NOU 2016:7 (p.191) that:

These shortcomings are directly related to the resources available for refugee individuals. Integration challenges here refer to a lack of existing skills, social networks and the right kind of information about educational and job opportunities in Norway, as well as a problematic scenario where employment opportunities misalign with refugees’ existing professional expertise. In that case, integration is considered successful if refugees manage to acquire the ‘right skills’ to enter the labour market, even if this means letting go of their existing occupational identity (Drange & Orupabo, 2018; Masoud et al., 2020). The idea of refugees as malleable workforce becomes clear in text excerpts which highlight their potential use value for the labour market that: ‘Immigrants constitute an important labour force resource, which the labour and social life should have access to and benefit from’ (NOU 2016:7, p. 192).

Career guidance is considered useful in contributing to education and job focus in the early phase of the integration process (Opinion, 2017). In the years since arrival, education in the host country is linked to higher employment and income in the long term (Bratsberg et al., 2016). Education is highlighted as an important integration tool, and the Integration Act has made it easier for more individuals to include education in their IP (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2018). The proposed solutions in the documents suggest that refugees have a potential that is not being well utilised and that their resources can be released or developed (e.g. taking education in Norway) based on career guidance. In other words, they are not employable yet.

Problem representation 3. Refugees lack the ability to make independent and rational career choices

This problem representation also deals with a focus on deficiencies, but where the second problem representation focuses on the refugees’ lack of ‘right skills’, here refugees’ lack of ability to make career choices becomes the problem, in other words, something they cannot manage. Therefore, it is assumed that refugees require career advice for career planning.

As presented previously, White Paper 30 describes career guidance as ‘advice on the path to and choice of education and work but also a process where the individual becomes more aware of their own competence’. In the Integration Act §11 we find formulations that align with this perspective: ‘When the career guidance has been carried out, a recommendation should be given about work or education for the individual participant…’. Thus, refugees are framed as needing advice and recommendations regarding their career choices. In addition to advice and recommendations, good career choices are highlighted as being based on information, since: ‘The career guidance should contribute to the individual being able to make informed choices about work and education and to the IP being adapted to the individual’s needs’ (Integreringsloven, 2021, §11).

Here, the condition for refugees to make ‘good’ career choices seems to be that career counsellors provide them with career information and advice. Refugees do not have career information in the early integration phase, so recommendations from the career counsellor are advisable. Implicitly, there is an understanding that when they have eventually acquired career information, they will be able to make ‘good’ career choices.

Some recurring themes are identified in the three problem representations. The most clearly expressed is the deficit view on the refugees: what they lack. The focus in all problem representations is on what refugees do not know, cannot do or do not manage to establish a career in a new country. However, problem representations also describe refugees with potential; deficiencies can be developed with the support of, among other things, career guidance. Career guidance should help transform refugees’ deficiencies into labour market assets, thereby facilitating a faster integration process.

Q2: What assumptions underpin the idea of career guidance as a solution for integration?

The analysis here involves identifying the underlying premises of the three problem representations, all of which point to the need for career guidance for more efficient integration. However, the identification of the cause of this need may be related to different discourses.

A recurring theme in the analysed documents is that career guidance can contribute to more efficient integration processes within a technocratic discourse focusing on competence and socioeconomics. There seems to be a strong assumption that acquiring the ‘right’ knowledge and skills will render refugees employable and ensure a stable attachment to the labour force. The responsibility to acquire the formal competence demanded by the labour market is placed on individual refugees. Hence, it becomes the government’s duty to support refugees in acquiring skills in accordance with society’s competence requirements. Concurrently, there is a knowledge-economic discourse in which capital lies within an individual (Kjærgård, 2012). An economic argument is made for increasing educational opportunities, as demonstrated in the following quote from the Government’s Integration Strategy for 2019–2022 (p. 10):

The time it takes for refugees to gain employment appears as a challenge, both for the individual refugee, due to a lack of self-sufficiency, independence, and participation, and for society, which experiences a shortage of labour and increased welfare state expenses (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2018). This resonates with Sultana’s (2014, 2018) technocratic discourse, where the goal is socioeconomic efficiency and strengthening the country’s economy by ensuring a good flow between supply and demand for competence. It is argued that this balance is lacking in the field of integration. Technocratic discourse promotes scientific methods to match job seekers’ skills with labour market needs. Career choices are considered rational decisions, and career guidance is viewed as a measure that can organise people for the benefit of both the individual and society (Hooley et al., 2018). Those outside the labour market or education are often portrayed as having weak qualifications (Kjærgård, 2012), and career guidance is expected to assist refugees in acquiring desirable qualifications, thereby enhancing their labour market prospects (Masoud et al., 2020).

The responsibility of developing competencies and making sound career choices is placed on individual refugees. This perspective is tied to neoliberal logic that focuses on what individuals should do to improve their own life situation (Hammer, 2021). The notion of individual responsibility for lifelong learning and career competence is reflected in various policy texts from the EU (2008), OECD (2004), and national documents (NOU 2016:7). This neoliberal logic is associated with the governance form of governmentality, where governance ‘from above’ is intertwined with self-governance (Hammer, 2021). Problem representations and solutions may seem obvious to those involved, and perspectives such as employability discourse can appear self-selected by both career counsellors and refugees (Drange & Orupabo, 2018).

We also identify a humanistic discourse (Sultana, 2014, 2017), which suggests that career guidance should help tailor the IP to the individual’s needs. Legislative proposal (Prop. 89 L, (2019–2020), p. 71) states: ‘Career guidance should, in the department’s view, also take into account the individual’s age, motivation, and aspirations.’ Here, the individual is at the centre, and career guidance can contribute to self-awareness and understanding of the motivations that each refugee has for a career in a new country’.

Career guidance for refugees often prioritises societal considerations and market needs over individual needs. This is seen in an integration discourse in which job seekers are to adapt to the labour market’s demands (Kekki & Linde, 2022; Masoud et al., 2020). The integration discourse emphasises getting refugees on the correct trajectory as quickly as possible to avoid potential threats to the integration process (Magnussen, 2020). What is best for society and the individual is often determined by the governing powers, and career guidance serves as a ‘soft’ political instrument serving the political goals within the integration field (Hooley et al., 2018).

Q3 and Q6: How has career guidance emerged as a solution to the ‘problems’ in integration policy? How are problem representations produced, disseminated, or defended?

This chapter engages in a genealogical analysis of the problem representations and discourses presented in previous analysis. We highlight the historical development of two policy discourses—integration policy and competence policy—that influence problem representations in our study.

In 1975, Norway introduced an immigration stop for foreign non-Nordic workers, with exceptions for refugees, among others. This action was undertaken due to the societal situation in Norway and to improve social circumstances for immigrants already residing in the country (Brochmann & Kjeldstadli, 2014). Norway adheres to a universalistic welfare model, and since 1975, its immigration policy has been shaped by the perception that immigration threatens the sustainability of the welfare system. Consequently, the number of individuals who attain economic independence from the welfare system through employment became a critical factor in integration.

In 2000, EU Prime Ministers resolved to make Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy by 2010 (The European Council, 2000). In this knowledge economy, the competence of the population is seen as the society’s most important resource (Kunnskapsdepartementet, 2018). Since then, political actors such as the OECD, EU, and World Bank have linked career guidance to economic growth and increased competitiveness. According to OECD, democratic societies should develop career guidance systems that ‘…also develops people’s ability to manage their own careers’ (OECD, 2004, p. 139). This approach to holding citizens responsible for adapting to a competence society is recognisable in Norway’s integration policy over the past 10 years (Stein & Fedreheim, 2022).

The number of refugees coming to Norway has increased since the 1980s, and due to the high influx of refugees in 2015, the Solberg Government desired a ‘more efficient’ integration policy (White Paper 30). One measure was the establishment of the Brochmann 2 Committee, which assessed the long-term consequences of immigration. The committee recommended the quick commencement of education and qualification programs for newly arrived refugees and better mechanisms to assess and complement their existing educational background and qualifications (NOU 2017:2).

White Paper 30 referred to NOU 2016:7, specifically the chapter ‘Career Guidance for Integration’, which advocated professional career guidance as a tool for the integration of newly arrived refugees. NOU 2016:7 highlighted, that municipalities assess refugees’ competencies and interests, but this falls short of professional career guidance. The committee recommended the following:

The Solberg Government created several integration reception centres in 2016, with full-time programs for residents. This was the first time that professional career guidance was introduced as a mandatory measure in the integration field. Career guidance was provided by career counsellors at county municipal career centres (Meld. St. 30 (2015–2016)).

The Solberg Government was critical of the original IP. In their integration strategy 2019–2022, the government stated that many municipalities did not have ‘sufficient results in their qualification programmes’ and that there were significant differences between municipalities. They wanted to reform the IP and to focus on education and formal qualifications. Reform of the IP came with the Integration Act in 2021. Here, the right and duty to provide career guidance at the start of the IP was legally established.

The Støre Government issued its integration report White Paper 17 on integration policy ‘Set requirements and show up’ in 2024. The main message was that more immigrants should enter and gain a stable position in the workforce regulated by law. The report referred to existing measures of career guidance in the integration system, without mentioning new tasks for public career guidance services.

This historical review highlights how changes in Norwegian integration and competence policies have contributed to framing refugees as inadequately qualified and in need of upskilling to enter the workforce and to become economically self-sufficient. There has been an increasing emphasis on competence development, and career guidance has been outlined as a suitable service that contributes to accelerating refugees’ entry into qualification programs.

Q4: What is left unproblematic and where are the silences in problem representations?

Our problem representations view career guidance dominantly through a technocratic discourse, where refugee skills, and career support, are primarily evaluated against labour market needs. Research indicates that career counsellors direct refugees towards occupations with favourable job prospects (Kekki, 2024). Many refugees adapt their career plans to quickly integrate into the workforce and achieve financial independence (Hertzberg, 2023), which can be perceived as assimilation into the employment domain.

Career counsellors’ professionalism is challenged as they find themselves conflicted between facilitating refugees’ adaptation to societal structures and promoting their personal development (Kekki & Linde, 2022). The principle of neutrality and client-centeredness is compromised, when career guidance involves holding refugees responsible for enhancing their skills in accordance with the demands of the labour market. This discourse also excludes career guidance as a critical practice addressing contextual, systemic, and societal issues as part of the ‘problem’ with integration, such as local labour market limitations, discriminating qualification assessment models, or segregation in education and the labour market. Workplace discrimination against refugees has been documented in Norway (Bratsberg et al., 2016).

Migrants’ deficits are emphasised through a discourse on employability in career guidance practices (Masoud et al. 2020; Drange & Orupabo, 2018). Labour market structures and cultures remain unchanged, while refugees must work on their habits and identities and present an ‘assimilated façade’ to be accepted (eg. Masoud et al., 2020). The employer’s perspective in the work integration process is downplayed, although it is more prominent in White Paper 17, where the issue of too many refugees ending up in precarious labour market is problematised. Work and education are described as key integration arenas in career guidance, while a broader perspective on integration as a two-way process or everyday integration is understated.

Technocratic discourse and its confinement to job matching, rational career choices, and integration through work overlooks various challenges related to career guidance in the early integration phase. Topics such as career conceptions in a new country (Arulmani, 2012), and non-Western views on career and career approaches (Sultana, 2017) remain unproblematised. Several scholars critique a rational understanding of career choices, emphasising meaning, chance, or interests as significant factors (2009; Savickas, 2019). Idea of career as a “choice” resonates little among those most vulnerable in society, as structural conditions shape people’s opportunities and careers (Hooley et al., 2018). When integration discourse homogenises refugees as deficit or culturally other, intersectional differences and structural disadvantages are trivialised (Sultana, 2017).

According to the Integration Act (2021), career counsellor should recommend work or education within the temporally short-term framework of the IP. This rigid task conflicts with professional principles, such as guidance as a process which strengthens the counselee’s position to manage their career which stretches life wide and lifelong. Career guidance should be early and quick, raising questions about the possibility of establishing a good relationship within this timeframe, a key element of career guidance. According to Kekki (2024) integration should be seen as a process rather than a condition to be achieved, and that such a process is time-consuming and can span generations. Exploring other perspectives takes time. When guidance involves an interpreter, this can be time-consuming and require multiple guidance sessions.

Q5: What discursive, subjective, and lived effects are produced by the problem representations?

Now we wish to return to our research question concerning, how are the problems that career guidance is intended to solve, framed in the Norwegian integration policy, and what effects can these understandings have on career guidance for refugees. The ways in which problems are framed in policy generate various discursive, subjectification and lived effects in career guidance for newly arrived refugees. As the discursive effects have been discussed earlier, we will here focus on subjectification and lived effects. Lived effects are part of an integrated analysis of how discursive and subjectification effects can have implications for people’s lives (Bacchi, 2009). Our analysis includes a critical reflection on how problem representations that describe refugees’ issues as an individual’s responsibility can have consequences for career guidance services.

Career guidance depicted in the documents, informed by a technocratic discourse, promotes certain practices to ensure a match between refugees’ skills and market needs. Instead of asking the refugees what they want help with, career guidance in the IP may need to start by explaining to the refugee why they should have career guidance and then lead discussions towards topics that counsellor must cover to evaluate potential career goals within the IP. Such a practice assigns different roles to counsellors and counsellees based on power positions (Bacchi, 2009). We identified that career counsellors take on an expert role, and refugees become passive recipients in guidance situations. Kekki’s (2022) research illustrates how career counsellors in the integration field wield power by directing conversations towards employment topics and evading what they perceive as problematic issues that refugees try to address. Flatø and colleagues (2023) analysed career guidance as regulated by the Introduction Act concluding, that it mainly focused on evaluating refugees’ existing qualifications and skills and providing information about the education system and labour market, with little focus on future aspirations. While career counsellors aim for an exploratory approach, it is difficult to implement as refugees attend career guidance involuntarily and typically have only one session.

According to Kjærgård (2012), society is increasingly pushing the responsibility of making choices (and bearing their costs) to individuals, requiring active individuals who make reasonable decisions. Our analysis thus far has presented an image of exactly these kinds of refugee subjects, with both deficiencies and unharnessed potential. The ideal refugee is portrayed as motivated to adapt his or her career to the new country’s labour market needs, eager to learn and get a job, rational and realistic, and willing to receive career advice from career guidance, which is framed as an expert service of the state’s integration system. Thus, career guidance in the field of integration contributes to the production of subjects who feel responsible for their own integration and employability adapted to the Norwegian labour market (Hooley et al., 2018). The image of the competent career counsellor is one who is an expert on Norwegian conditions, quickly manages to map refugees’ skills and career aspirations, provides relevant career information, and concludes with recommendations for plans in the IP.

Table 2 summarises the key findings of our analyses.