There are six times as many job listings for engineers in Denmark as there were at the height of the recession in 2009, according to the engineering professional organisation IDA.

Morten Thiessen, the chairman of the employee council at IDA, said that this was good news for employees but a concern for the industry. “Of course, it is good news for engineers that the demand for their skills and competences is going up,” he said.

“However, it’s a problem for Danish companies who may have to reject orders or delay company expansions because of the lack of knowledge workers.”

IDA’s data suggests that the shortage affects the whole of Denmark, although the particular specialisations in demand vary from region to region. Structural, IT and electrical engineers are sought after in a number of regions.

Paradise for knowledge workers
According to Thiessen, branding the Danish labour market is the way to attract foreign workers to fill the vacancies. “Unfortunately, few highly educated foreigners know that Denmark is an attractive place to work with plenty of career opportunities and a great work-life balance,” he said.

“We can do much better. The countries surrounding Denmark also lack highly skilled engineers. We have to compete with them in order to attract the best and the brightest workers. We will lose this competition for engineers if we don’t make Denmark a paradise for knowledge workers”