Sicra gave Paul Omar a job after an NRK article

Back in 2024, an NRK (Norwegian Broadcasting) article was written about young people on disability benefits on their way out of society, which resulted in Paul Omar Lervåg's first encounter with Sicra. He had been out of the workforce since he was 18 years old.

In the years before, Paul Omar had taken steps to get off disability benefits.

– I decided early in my 20s that I wasn't satisfied with being on disability benefits forever. Applying for higher education when I was 27 was therefore a natural step for me. Now I have both a bachelor's and a master's degree in rhetoric and communication from the University of Oslo (UiO), says Paul Omar.

The criteria for the 23/5 rule prevented him from applying earlier since he didn't have full, but general study competence. Among other things, he didn't have 5 years of work or school combined.

Read more about the 23/5 rule in this Wikipedia article about higher education in Norway.

From NRK article to LinkedIn message

Sicra’s CEO Stig Valderhaug became curious about Paul after reading the NRK article.

– I wondered why such a resourceful person hadn't gotten a chance in the workforce. So, I decided to learn more about Paul.

Stig says he had to search a bit to find Paul's contact information but eventually found him on LinkedIn. He sent a message asking if Paul would be interested in having a conversation. (See screenshots of the messages at the bottom of the article.)

The exchange on LinkedIn marked the beginning of a 10-month work training. We decided to start with work training first, so we could get to know each other better and see if it was a good match.

From work training to full-time job

– Paul expressed concern that earning money right away could lead to having to pay back benefits to NAV. That's part of the reason we chose to start with work training first, to reduce the risk for Paul, says Stig Valderhaug.

The measurable results Paul created for Sicra led to him getting a job, and he quickly became a key person at Sicra.

– Sicra got more regular publication of articles. Additionally, Paul helps the consultants improve their language. The steps Paul took led to a measurable effect. Since March 31, 2024, the number of page views has increased by 80 percent, says Stig.

Paul sees himself at Sicra in 5 years

Paul, like many others at Sicra, mostly works from home. This allows him to work under the conditions where he performs best.

When the NRK journalist asked Paul where he sees himself in 5 years:

– I would like to continue working at Sicra. You can tell that Stig really cares about the employees. Stig's mentality is reflected in his trust-based leadership. It creates a good working environment. The flexibility is also high, and people respect my neurodiversity.

– It also doesn't hurt that I feel Sicra fulfills an important societal mission. Securing Norwegian businesses and organizations against cyberattacks. We rhetoricians are concerned with not using rhetoric in an unethical way, but that's not a concern I have at Sicra.

Read what the press wrote (Norwegian Only):

NRK article from 2024: På veg ut av samfunnet

NRK article from 2025: Slik kom dei seg ut av trygdestatistikken: – Tilliten betydde alt