Inger Lise Blyverket has never had a career plan, but the road is created while she walks.
The deadline for applying for higher education by the autumn expires soon. Although the world is chaotic and the future seems uncertain, the possibilities are many. The online newspaper talks to famous faces with different backgrounds about what they thought about career choices at a young age – and what they think is a good idea to study now.
Today she is the CEO of the Consumer Council. The supreme leader of the body, which aims to transfer power to consumers, and which is steadily and constantly in the media and warns of consumer traps.
But this was not where she planned to end up. In fact, she had no other plan than to have fun when she started studying at Blinderen in Oslo in the 80’s.
– I had no career plans over my head, and had no big dreams. I was looking forward to living student life, and I felt grown up when I moved for myself to study, she says to Nettavisen.
She chose subjects on impulse and according to her own interests. Blyverket ended up taking the subjects French, Nordic and sociology, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oslo in 1992.
– I started working as a teacher while I was still studying, and I continued as a teacher in upper secondary school after I had completed both the bachelor’s degree and the PPU education, she says.
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The springboard of his career
After a few years in the teaching profession, she was given an opportunity she could not say no to. She was asked to be a shop steward for the Oslo teachers.
– The smartest thing I have done is to never say no to a challenge. The offer came suddenly to me, and I had no idea what I was going for, but I have never regretted it, she says.
This was the springboard in her career, and the reason why she has ended up in the job she has today. She learned a lot about both politics and influence, regulations and working for some interests.
In addition, she got a large network, which has been worth its weight in gold on the way forward.
– I could not educate myself for the job I have today. It is the sum of all the choices I have made in my career, and the experiences I have made, says the consumer director.
She has never regretted any of the choices she made. The choices felt right there and then, and what she has learned in the positions she has held, she has needed in her further career.
– Always say yes!
Genuine curiosity has been important, and there are two things in particular that Blyverket has learned, which she will share with others who want to succeed in working life.
– Always say yes if you are asked to take on new tasks, even if you are unsure if you want to master them. In addition, I recommend raising your hand if you think you have something to contribute, she says.
It was the desire to try something new, and get new challenges that made Blyverket accept the job as a shop steward – even though the teaching job was exciting.
Blyverket has sat on the board of Utdanningsforbundet and has also been director of politics and negotiations in the main organization Virke, to name a few of the jobs she has had.
In 2018, she took over as director of the Consumer Council, and has built on her expertise alongside, by taking a master’s in management.
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Likes to make things happen
– It is no wonder that I have ended up at the intersection between science and politics. I am not a bureaucrat, but more an activist who likes to make things happen, says Blyverket.
– Working with interest policy influence runs deep into me. I believe in working for the community, she explains.
Through both work and leisure, she has become involved in the community. She has worked on behalf of employees, employers and now consumers, but in her spare time she has also been involved in the Gay Movement.
– It is important to have interest-political mouthpieces that move society forward, says Blyverket.
She is very happy with how her career has turned out, and would not have chosen much differently today as she did over 30 years ago.
– I would study sociology or another social studies again, because it is useful to understand how society works. But it is not enough. I would probably have filled up with law and economics as well, says Blyverket.
She believes this is a basic subject that one must know in order to influence society.
– You must understand how regulations are created and how they govern the development of society. And you only realize that when you also understand how the economy is connected to everything, she explains.
– Ask for help
Throughout a long career, you will of course make mistakes, but there is something you can learn from. Blyverket therefore finds it difficult to point out the dumbest thing she has done in her career.
One of the things she learned, however, is that you as a leader must be responsive and dare to apologize if you have made a mistake.
– The most important thing I have learned, however, is to ask people around you. I have learned a lot from asking other leaders for help, but also colleagues, she says.
– It is my colleagues who drive me to work today. These are extremely talented and dedicated people. I experience being in a knowledgeable community where I learn something new every day, says Blyverket.
Move power
As Consumer Director, she absorbs all knowledge from the people around her, and must put it together in the right way so that the Consumer Council manages to fulfill its social mission: Transfer power to consumers.
– Traders traditionally have more power than the consumer – and can make it difficult for us to make informed choices and make the best purchase. We can be tricked into purchases and transactions we do not understand the scope of and where we become the losing party, Blyverket explains.
The Consumer Council’s task is to make it easier for consumers to make good choices, and to help businesses that violate consumer regulations are also punished for it.
There is no doubt that the experiences she has gained over the last 30 years in working life have come in handy. The Consumer Director also recommends others to take chances and try something new in working life.
– Path as you go. Your basic education is just a springboard further, says Blyverket.
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