75 days before Norwegians elect their local and regional representatives, Sanner and his fellow ministers travel the country to visit 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, to receive input to future policymaking. Boss Industri, a family-owned mechanical workshop founded by Arne Vatne in a barn 62 years ago, was Sanner’s third stop in three hours.
30 people are employed by Boss Industri, which is now headed by Elin Vatne, daughter of founder Arne. The company specializes in various steel welding, surface treatment and hydraulics.
In their presentation to Minister Sanner, both Vatne and Business Developer Rune Fredriksen stressed the importance of vocational training.
“We need more emphasis on the kind of competence that is relevant for our industry. We have been hiring lately, but it is hard to find skilled people,” says Fredriksen.
Anne-Grete Ellingsen, CEO of GCE NODE, said it is important for Norwegian SMEs that the government makes sure that Norway is included in a new European Union R&D program, called Digital Europe, which is designed to assist SMEs in their digital transformation.
