| Employment Market
With unemployment at 2%, well below
the OECD average of 7%, it is definitely a job seekers market in Iceland.
The Icelandic economy is currently in a strong upswing. Along with a rising
level of economic activity, the labor market has improved dramatically
and labor shortages are beginning to be encountered. While Iceland is home
to many well-trained and talented people, nevertheless there are skill
shortages, particularly in IT. Many are concerned about the lack of human
resources.
The level of real disposable income
in Iceland has risen sharply in recent years, up 8% in 1997 and 9% in 1998.
Well-educated Icelanders themselves now see more point in working in the
country than was the case 10 years ago, when many sought employment in
Europe and the US. The net migration of employees in Iceland in 1998 was
4%.
Education
Iceland has long been one of the
world's most literate countries. Education is compulsory for ten years,
with over 25 percent of the work-force holding university degrees. Many
have studied abroad, mostly in Europe or North America.
English and a Scandinavian language
are part of the basic education. Most people entering further education
add a third foreign language, usually German or French. Communication is
therefore very easy at general, business and technical levels. This has
also meant that it is unnecessary to translate software into Icelandic,
even though it is often done for marketing purposes. As a part of the curriculum,
all schools include some computer education, and advanced courses are available
at various levels. Several hundred students have graduated from the University
of Iceland with a B.Sc. degree in Computer Science, and a Master's Degree
will become available in the fall of 1998. Computer skills also feature
heavily in a number of other university majors. Other colleges offer software-related
studies as well and have qualified hundreds of programmers. Refresher courses
are also available, covering everything from basic use to implementation
of the latest algorithms and computer technology.
The five major Universities in Iceland
are:
Reykjavik University recently changed
its name from the Reykjavik School of Business. Administration felt this
was necessary given that more students at the School are studying computer
science now then business. The university plans to offer a one-year MBA
program focused on e-commerce in January. The study language will be English,
and the aim is to attract students and teachers from Iceland and other
countries. As you would expect in a country with the highest internet penetration
in the world, the university is heavily reliant on the web and the knowledge
available through it. It has what may be the smallest physical library
of any university - only 1,000 books - and relies mainly on developing
electronic databases and reserves.
Technical expertise
Computer professionals in Iceland
can muster in-depth knowledge of a wide range of programming languages
(Fortran, Cobol, PL/I, RPG, Natural, SQL, Pascal, C, C++, Java, Assembly,
Visual Basic) and database systems (Oracle, Adabas, Informix, dBase, Access,
Silicon Graphics), as well as advanced design and development techniques.
A wide range of hardware is in use, along with the knowledge of appropriate
operating systems and systems software. Icelanders are accustomed to working
with international standards. Applications are not only PC-based but frequently
integrated into chips for dedicated industrial use and process control
systems.
|
