History of RKK

In 1988 the then Ministry of Education made a ruling that all upper secondary schools were to establish a resource centre with the purpose of coordinating contact with the industrial sector in relation to employee training. In Rogaland the answer was RKK.

RKK´s original mandate:

”An industrial sector in a state of continuous change means frequent adaptation on the part of management, the organisation and employees. In many cases a new course must be plotted for the enterprise or people must modify their individual plans. RKK has been established with the aim of making this process as speedy, economical and purposeful as possible.”

Steps in the establishment of RKK:

• February 1988 –County Education Committee item 022/88: proposal from Ledaal Upper Secondary School/ proposer Ommund Torgersen.
• 30 August 1988 – County Council item 084/88, proposal adopted: the Committee for Economic Development and Employment recommends establishment of the foundation. County Committee item 0290/88 approves the recommendation.
• 19 December 1988 – County Committee decision on the establishment of the RKK foundation.
• 3 March 1989 –the RKK Board is constituted.

20th anniversary

RKK celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2009. The foundation’s annual turnover is currently NOK 60 million. In the course of its early years, from 1989 to1993, RKK’s annual turnover rose first to NOK 12 million, then in 1994 -1995 to NOK 40 million. Turnover then remained stable with some cyclical fluctuations until 2001, since when it has risen steadily until the present day and in 2008 reached a provisional peak of NOK 63 million. This growth in turnover in recent years is largely due to our international projects, since the domestic market is relatively stable.

RKK is now a benchmark provider of vocational and adult education in Rogaland, Norway and internationally. RKK represents specialist competence in all vocational education subjects. This expertise results our collaboration with all vocational schools in Rogaland and from cooperation between the schools and the region’s private and public sectors. Through this collaboration, the schools have been able to implement new technology and develop awareness of industry’s learning needs. RKK’s basic activities are still the most important, with the continuing education programmes the vocational schools supply to large and medium-sized enterprises in the region and the rest of Norway. Other important activities are our provision of continuing education on behalf of Rogaland County Council in the context of the adult education reform, commissions from the University of Stavanger for Pre-Engineering courses and from NAV for job-seeker courses.

One of the greatest advantages afforded by the RKK model is the flexibility it represents, a feature that allows us to present training solutions quickly and implement activities as the need arises. With regard to our international engagements, our main principals are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Oil for Development programme, NORAD, UN, the Danish organisation DANIDA, Norwegian ambassadors abroad, governments in various countries and concerns such as StatoilHydro, Aker and Kaefer IKM. Our commissioned projects are in areas such as the development of infrastructure for the training of local labour, primarily for the oil and gas industry but also in areas such as health, transport, communications and agriculture. Our activities are constantly expanding and we have signed framework contracts with enterprises for assistance with establishment in new markets. Our close contact with customers and principals means that we have been able to direct our development in line with their needs. We also owe much to exacting customers who have driven our continuous development through their demand for quality and reliable delivery in both the domestic and, not least, an international market.