Human
Resources
Wealth
in Human Resources
The
Icelandic labour force is well educated,with
compulsory ten-year school education. More
than 55% of the labour force has educational
backgrounds beyond compulsory schooling,in
the form of vocational training or university
degrees.
The
local economy is supported by a steadily expanding
commercial and service sector, in
which over 20 per cent of the local working
population is employed,while Akureyri is also
developing a reputation as a centre of logistical
activities.
As
well as being the administrative centre of the
region, Akureyri contains one of the country's
leading universities, which plays an important role
in training people for industry,
health care, teaching, fisheries science and management as
well as carrying out research
into the regional environment.
Industrial
production in northeast Iceland rests on a deep-rooted
tradition. Hence, people there possess considerable
work skills and are eager to tackle novel industrial
and technical projects. Icelandic industries have
first and foremost long been founded on the manufacture
of goods and the use of high quality raw material,
e.g. making clothes and shoes of Icelandic wool
and skins, but raw materials have also been imported
for further processing. A pragmatic approach therefore
involves the utilisation of Icelandic energy sources
for industrial production.
By
far the largest industry in Northeast Iceland
in terms of productivity is fishing and fish processing.
The region commands 20% of the total Icelandic
fishing quota and within the fish processing sector
there are high-tech fish processing factories
that have been developed by virtue of Icelandic
ingenuity and work skills. The same applies to
production in the plastic industry, log processing,
diatomite production as well as the dairy industry
and meat processing. The business environment
has changed to a market driven economy at record
speed which has resulted in making local companies
more competent and better able to cope with international
competition.
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