Employee welfare

Our aim is for our employees to thrive at work and in their leisure time, so they want to work for us for a long time. Social conditions are an important aspect of the work involving sustainability, so for us it was obvious that the welfare of our employees should form part of our commitment to sustainability.

Living in Svalbard involves a steep learning curve

Svalbard is an isolated archipelago in the High Arctic and our nearest neighbour is the North Pole. For most people, moving here is a big adjustment and some find it challenging to find their place in the local community. We live and work in a small community and initially many may have little or no network outside work. Consequently, the workplace becomes almost like a big family. This means that as an employer, in relation to employers on the Norwegian mainland, we have a unique responsibility for our employees. To put it into perspective: If our employees wish to travel outside the Longyearbyen settlement, they must carry and use a firearm in case they encounter polar bears, snowmobiles are the preferred means of transportation for much of the year and travelling in certain nature here can be risky. Living in Svalbard and having an active leisure time involves a steep learning curve.

The Svalbard Adventures Academy – for increased competence and wellbeing

Svalbard Adventures aims to be a safe and good workplace, and employee welfare in Svalbard is key to retaining knowledgeable and competent employees over time. Consequently, we have established the Svalbard Adventures Academy, a scheme to offer training for new employees in areas such as shooting and safety and provide an insight into everyday life in Svalbard.

The academy will lead to more of our employees being able to better communicate the distinctive character, history and nature of Svalbard to our guests. Equally importantly, it will be an important social provision that will enable new employees to quickly be able to take advantage of the opportunities that Svalbard’s nature and outdoor life offer. This in turn will be able to increase the wellbeing and continuity of the workforce.

In the longer term, we wish to offer/sell the Svalbard Adventures Academy to other companies or organisations in Longyearbyen with the same needs. After all, not all companies in Longyearbyen have enough employees to justify establishing their own academy.

The Svalbard Adventures Academy offers:

Our work with social sustainability for employee welfare: