Norway: Business Studies & Locomotive Driving Are the Most Requested Vocational Programs This Year

The Master of Business Administration at the Norwegian School of Management (NHH) is the program with the highest number of applicants, picking the program as the first study choice, followed by the jurisprudence program at the universities of Oslo and Bergen, the Education Ministry reveals.

According to a press release issued by the authority, an online study program is on the top of the list for the first time, while almost 1,400 applicants have picked part-time education in the organization and management program at Høgskolen i Innlandet (HiNN).

As per vocational programs, the most popular study for the year is the train driver program, with 7.4 applicants for each of the 168 study places, Erudera.com reports.

“This year’s application numbers show that we are on our way back to normal. We see that many apply for education that will give them good job prospects when they have finished their studies. Then it is interesting to see that more online studies are at the top this year,” the Minister of Education, Ola Borten Moe, said.

Also, this year, there is a great demand for study places for the bachelor’s degree in customs, goods movement, and border control at the University of Stavanger, followed by competition for architectural education at AHO in Oslo.

Medical studies remain on top of students’ picks, with the university in Oslo leading and aviation studies in Tromsø following. In fifth place is an online study for food, nutrition, and health, at HiNN in Elverum.

Furthermore, electric power, professional diving, and further education for ambulance professionals make up for popular study programs in vocational training.

“It is not surprising that the train driver education is popular. In one year, you get an exciting education with a lot of practice and a well-paid job at the other end. In general, vocational education is a very good choice. We know that we will need many skilled professionals throughout the country in the future, and many companies say they lack people with higher vocational education,” Minister Borten Moe pointed out.

Furthermore, in another press release, the Ministry pointed out that this year the number of applicants for higher education had dropped by 19,000 applicants, returning to pre-pandemic levels when the number of applicants was lower.

More specifically, 134,954 people have applied for a study place at a college or university via Coordinated Admissions.

The same source reveals that there are 2.2 applicants per study place, although more study places are offered to students at these higher education institutions. There are 62,191 allocated study places, 518 more than last year.