Morning Briefing – Thursday, July 11

The Copenhagen Post’s daily digest of what the Danish press is reporting

Workers not improving skills

 

Ten years of effort to get both skilled and unskilled workers to increase their abilities and workplace value have failed. Figures from the labour confederation LO reveal that fewer and fewer skilled masons, painters, carpenters, office workers and social and health assistants are completing further educations. The number remains exactly the same as ten years ago despite efforts by the government and unions to inspire workers to upgrade their skills. LO's head, Einer Holst, called the failure "a social problem that we must solve". – Politiken

 

Metro offers own noise assessment

 

Metroselskabet, the company building Copenhagen's Metro, is required to financially compensate neighbours to the construction sites that are disturbed by excessive noise levels. The greater the noise, the higher the compensation. Now, just two days before a commission is to begin deciding which of the more than 30,000 affected households are entitled to payment, the company has presented its own map of what it feels are the affected areas and says it will use that map as the deciding factor as to who is compensated and who is not. Neighbours have cried foul and said that the company is trying to cheat them and reduce its costs. Metroselskabet said the whole thing is a big misunderstanding. – Politiken

 

Foreign researchers flocking to Denmark

The number of foreign scientists and researchers working at Denmark’s largest universities has grown. In four years, the number of foreign researchers increased by 38 percent at the University of Copenhagen and by 33 percent at Aarhus University. The researchers said that they are willing to battle the bureaucracy and difficulties in obtaining work and residency permits for a chance to participate in what they see as the nation’s high international research and funding levels. – Berlingske

Record number of gang members in jail

Nearly one out of every four registered gang members is currently behind bars. According to figures from the national police, Rigspolitiet, 371 of the nation's 1,635 gang members are cooling their heels in the slammer. Over 150 have been arrested during police actions during the first six months of this year. Police say that the arrests may be contributing to what has been a relatively peaceful period free of gang violence, but offered no guarantee that the peace will hold. – DR




  • Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    Diplomatic tensions between US and Denmark after spying rumors

    A Wall Street Journal article describes that the US will now begin spying in Greenland. This worries the Danish foreign minister, who wants an explanation from the US’s leading diplomat. Greenlandic politicians think that Trump’s actions increase the sense of insecurity

  • Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    Diplomacy meets Westeros: a dinner with the King, Queen – and Jaime Lannister

    What do King Frederik X, Queen Mary, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Jaime Lannister have in common? No, this isn’t the start of a very specific Shakespeare-meets-HBO fanfiction — it was just Wednesday night in Denmark

  • Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    Huge boost to halt dropouts from vocational education

    For many years, most young people in Denmark have preferred upper secondary school (Gymnasium). Approximately 20 percent of a year group chooses a vocational education. Four out of 10 young people drop out of a vocational education. A bunch of millions aims to change that

  • Beloved culture house saved from closure

    Beloved culture house saved from closure

    At the beginning of April, it was reported that Kapelvej 44, a popular community house situated in Nørrebro, was at risk of closing due to a loss of municipality funding

  • Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    Mette Frederiksen: “If you harm the country that is hosting you, you shouldn’t be here at all”

    With reforms to tighten the rules for foreigners in Denmark without legal residency, and the approval of a reception package for internationals working in the care sector, internationals have been under the spotlight this week. Mette Frederiksen spoke about both reforms yesterday.

  • Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Tolerated, but barely: inside Denmark’s departure centers

    Currently, around 170 people live on “tolerated stay” in Denmark, a status for people who cannot be deported but are denied residency and basic rights. As SOS Racisme draws a concerning picture of their living conditions in departure centers, such as Kærshovedgård, they also suggest it might be time for Denmark to reinvent its policies on deportation

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