Business leaders in Denmark prefer to hire highly-skilled workers from abroad rather than upgrade their own Danish workers, according to a new survey.

The survey, compiled by Greens Analyseinstitut for Børsen business newspaper of 2,000 Danish bosses, showed that 49 percent would rather hire a qualified foreigner than upgrade a Dane’s qualifications (27 percent). Some 24 percent declined to answer.

“We need to be prepared for more foreign labour coming to Denmark,” Svend Askær, the head of leadership advocate organisation Lederne, told Børsen.

“If not, the development will halt and companies will begin outsourcing departments. And it’s not just about needing more engineers – we’re also talking about academics and the unskilled workers.”

Askær is backed up by a Lederne survey that showed that 39 percent of the companies who expect to hire from abroad this year will hire a skilled worker, while 25 percent said they would hire unskilled workers.

READ MORE: Most new jobs in Denmark going to foreigners

Need to up game
Just last week, new figures from the national confederation of Danish employers, Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening (DA), revealed that the vast majority of the new jobs have gone to foreigners over the past four years.

According to Jørn Neergaard Larsen, the CEO of DA, the flood of foreign workers to Denmark could be limited if the Danes further educated themselves.

“We can under no circumstances do without foreign labour, but we must be more aware of youngsters and adults developing their competencies via education and training,” Larsen said.