Oslo Airport receives funding for Norwegian classes

Oslo Airport has been allocated funds from VOX to hold Norwegian classes. The course will focus on increasing the speaking, reading and writing skills of employees whose native language is not Norwegian, in part to better facilitate good passenger experiences.

VOX, the Norwegian Agency for Lifelong Learning, has awarded Oslo Airport NOK 273,000 for Norwegian classes. Scheduled to run from January 2015 to June 2016, the project will fund three 70-hour courses. The course is designed for employees of ISS, SSP and TRN, the three largest employers in the terminal.

Gain better insight
The topics of the courses will provide participants with a better understanding of Oslo Airport and improve their Norwegian skills. Course participants will complete a service segment where they learn about the airport, the actors that are here and other relevant topics that will enable them to help travellers.

Along with ensuring passengers a good travel experience, Oslo Airport is responsible for HSE and security for both employees and travellers at the airport. To ensure a sound safety culture and focus on customer service OSL has stipulated language skills requirements for everyone working at the airport.

“Enabling everyone to properly understand our rules and procedures is important to us. We hope this course will contribute to better understanding and a greater sense of empowerment among employees,” says Wendy Wyant, skills development adviser at Oslo Airport.

Better proficiency in Norwegian is in everyone’s best interest
By raising the Norwegian skills of employees, Oslo Airport wants to foster a better working environment for everyone who works at the airport. The aim is that all participants will increase their proficiency in Norwegian and more easily understand safety procedures, HSE and other information material.

On completion of the course, all course participants are expected to be able to produce written reports, nonconformance reports and answer e-mails. Improving language skills among employees will also provide passengers with a better experience at the airport.

“We see only benefits with this collaboration. With better Norwegian skills, employees won’t be reluctant to report operations-related occurrences and speak up if something is wrong. It will also simplify the employees’ workday and enable them to provide better service to travellers,” says Morten Ernerstus, regional director of ISS.