One fifth of Danish food companies already find it difficult to recruit sufficient manpower, and a new study suggests it will be even harder in the future.

There is great demand for workers among Danish food production companies, ingredient suppliers and support industries for the food industry.

According to an Epinion study for Madkulturen, over 20 percent of 154 companies surveyed feel they are struggling to find the workers they need. Madkulturen is an independent institution working under the Environmental and Food Ministry.

Enticing the young
Over 40 percent of those companies said they expect it will be even harder to recruit the employees they need in the future.

“Technical skills are in short supply in many parts of the food industry, and companies today have difficulty in raising the necessary manpower,” said the environmental and food minister, Esben Lunde Larsen.

“We need to focus on all parts of the food industry and the exciting career opportunities that exist.”

READ MORE: Unskilled workers struggling to find jobs

The ministry has started a campaign and set up a web portal called Food Careers to help recruit young people into the food industry.

“Many Danish chefs are perceived as stars by young people,” said Larsen. “But we also need to create some stars among the laboratory technicians, dairy engineers and food biologists, and in the many other jobs that companies are heavily dependent on.”