If the population is really to grow, and if Faroese people – especially women – are to remain in the Faroe Islands, the labour market and education system here must become much more accommodating. If we want more people to return and give fewer reasons to leave, we must think in a much less traditional way. Creativity is not lacking among Faroese people, but does innovation get good enough conditions in the Faroe Islands?
By Elin Brimheim Heinesen
The main reason people move away from the Faroe Islands is that they go abroad to study. Many of these people get used to life abroad, perhaps meet their partner there and therefore end up staying and do not return. The range of jobs in the Faroese labour market also has a great impact on whether people want to or can return. This was one of the findings of the Exit Faroe Islands survey.
Supply too small and too narrow
Statistics show that women most often choose to educate and work in sectors that involve creating and communicating with or caring for other people in one way or another – for example in the creative industries, in culture, knowledge and communications, in trade and services, and not least in education and care. But in the Faroe Islands, there is a lack of higher education opportunities precisely in the areas that attract women. Therefore it is especially young women who flee.
We have teacher and pedagogy colleges and a nursing school, but otherwise there are virtually no higher education programmes in – in random order – communication, culture and cultural mediation, design of various kinds, visual art, graphic work, music, theatre, film, food culture and cooking, architecture, event management, tourism, wellness services, psychology and other personal development fields, sports, and many other things that many – especially women – are interested in studying and therefore must go abroad to study.
Some might think: “But do we need all that (‘nonsense’) in the Faroe Islands? Why can’t people just educate themselves for something that is needed here? If there is no work for people with such educations, why should expensive programmes be established in the Faroe Islands that may only educate people for unemployment? Won’t people just move away from the country anyway when they have finished their education? Can it even pay off to spend money on more schools that educate people for such things that can’t be used for anything ‘proper’?”
Useless Faroese?
On the other hand, one can also ask: Is it better to adapt people to society – rather than adapt society to people? Which of these two options is more likely to reduce out‑migration? People do what they feel like. How do you force people to adapt to society when they have the opportunity to opt out by moving? Of course they move. Why cling so tightly to only aiming for the traditional, which a large part of the population does not fit into, because they want something else? In the long run, can we afford to lose all these people?
If we do not set out to expand society by developing more than just the traditional, many will be forced to opt out of Faroese society. They will instead seek work – or start their own businesses – abroad, where it seems easier to get something out of their efforts. Many of them do extremely well and therefore remain there and leave value behind them there, rather than in the Faroe Islands.
Basic conditions must change
But when other countries can make use of these people, why can’t the Faroe Islands accommodate them? Yes, without doubt the Faroe Islands can, but the basic conditions for entrepreneurship in these areas to be profitable in the Faroe Islands must first be in place. For example, many more people must mentally move away from thinking of the Faroe Islands only as a fishing and industrial society, where we can almost only live off raw‑material and manufacturing industries, to also thinking of the Faroe Islands as a knowledge and service society. Many more Faroese need to recognize the value – including business value – of, for example, research, development and innovation, creative product development, storytelling, food and cultural experiences, and services of all kinds, as well as seeing the entire world as their market.
For example, there are many jobs in tourism, experience and service industries that many of those currently “leaking” out of the Faroe Islands could be attracted to – especially women. It is worth mentioning that in Iceland, tourism has begun to generate more income than the Icelandic fishing industry. They manage it, so of course we can manage it here as well. But what is holding it back?
What can politicians and investors do?
Banks and investors have a major influence on what kinds of activities get conditions in the Faroe Islands, and thus on how the labour market will look, but they hardly dare to make the necessary investments to expand tourism, experience and service industries as things stand. It is very difficult to secure investments and loans for tourism projects, for example. Investors and investment funds seem to have their heads and hearts full of fish, where short‑term profits are greater, so very little other activity than that which has to do with fishing and aquaculture gains support. Therefore, entrepreneurship in other areas faces very difficult conditions.
But elsewhere it is possible to make such activities viable in outlying societies that have roughly the same challenges as ours. Why then do banks and investors in the Faroe Islands not dare to believe in it? Are the frameworks for such activities not good enough? Here politicians could do much more to open more business doors. Politicians have a lot of influence on whether it can pay off to establish businesses in the Faroe Islands – for example by regulating taxes and VAT and removing obstructive laws and regulations, and by ensuring that the public sector uses Faroese suppliers, as well as through allocations for development and education, etc. They could stimulate entrepreneurship more in alternative industries that have something other than tangible fish products as their goods, by improving the framework conditions for these industries.
Unfortunately, political will and vision seem to be lacking. It is a great pity that more people do not see all the opportunities and all the capable forces that Faroese society loses in this way
