University degrees outpacing potential jobs

A recent study shows that Denmark is producing more scholars than the labour market can absorb

The public coffers will take an 8.5 billion kroner hit over the next ten years due to the high number of newly graduated students who will file directly into the unemployment queue, Information newspaper reported this weekend. 

 

According to a study carried out by Arbejderbevægelsens Erhvervsråd, unemployment figures among recent master's graduates are dire, with 26 percent facing unemployment upon finishing their studies. Those lost potential wages add up to a massive reduction to the public purse.

 

And finding a way to fill the increasing gap between the number of degrees obtained and the job positions available is no easy feat.

 

READ MORE: Too many smart people, not enough jobs

 

"For all of the newly graduated to have a job, we would need to see 6,000 more jobs within the private sector each year," Bjarne Lundager, a spokesperson for the education and research think-tank DEA, told Information.

 

In addition, the government's goal of having one fourth of Denmark's youth complete a higher education by 2020 continues to worry experts. Niels Rosendal Jensen, a professor at Aarhus University's Department of Education, thinks such a large number of candidates will prove to be a bite too big for the job market to swallow. 

 

"If we look at it purely from a labour market perspective, as in whether or not there will be enough room for that number of candidates to join the workforce, then the answer is presumably no," Jensen told Information.

 

The minister for research and higher education, Morten Østergaard (Radikale), acknowledged that the current situation is problematic, but said that he sees the future state of the labour market in a positive light. 

 

"Arbejderbevægelsens Erhvervsråd has also provided a projection that shows an eventual shortage of 100,000 scholars," Østergaard told Information. "Through the course of the economic crisis, it has primarily been the skilled and unskilled jobs that have disappeared, but we have created more jobs for the highly educated. That says something about the state of the future labour market and its demands."

 

Østergaard's optimism isn't shared by Lundager, however. He told Information that he fears Denmark is creating an "academic proletariat".

 

"There will be many for whom a university education isn't necessarily a guarantee for anything at all," he said. 

TOP STORIES

  • Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    After more than a decade living in Denmark, Russell shares why she made the move, how she’s coping, what she already misses, and the exciting new projects she’s working on. “It’s been a very tough decision. I love Denmark, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says.

  • Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    The new Gefion AI supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest and will accelerate research and provide new opportunities in Danish academia and industry.

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs