There is great prosperity in Denmark, as evidenced by a GDP per capita that is among the top ten in the world. The absence of bureaucracy, fast and efficient services, and growing businesses are evidence of a very modern market economy. There is virtually no unemployment and wages are among the highest in the world. Free public health care, free schools at all levels and an efficient state mean that Denmark is consistently ranked among denmark is one of the countries with the best quality of life in the world, and many foreigners are thinking about working in Denmark.
Apart from the weather and the food, it is a country that is eligible for job relocation. It is no coincidence that immigration to Denmark has doubled in the last 10 years and continues to increase.
Working in Denmark
Citizens of the EU, EEA, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Iceland or Sweden can live and work in Denmark without needing a special visa. Non-EU citizens need a visa and a work permit to work in Denmark.
To obtain a visa, you must find a job and obtain a work contract (sponsor) in Denmark.
You can find a sponsor in three ways:
- You can search for a sponsor on the internet, independently, from home
- You can search for a sponsor with the help of a specialized agency, but their services are not cheap
- You can search for a sponsor in Denmark. You can travel to Denmark with a tourist visa and look for an employer there
Finding work is not difficult, Denmark is full of small and medium enterprises. It is possible to find work in almost any sector. For highly specialized profiles it is easier. However, it is necessary to know the language. If you do not speak Danish, you can move only if you have a good command of English, which will allow you to find a job (more or less easily, depending on the type of job). If you cannot speak Danish, your future employment prospects are definitely limited, as about half of all Danish jobs are in the public sector and most of them require Danish language skills.
If you are in Denmark, you can take public or private Danish courses for a fee. Or free courses organized by the municipality for foreigners. And with practice, you will gradually learn this difficult but fascinating language. And once you have learned it, your life will be much easier and you can strive for greater satisfaction in all areas.
The labour system is based on the merit principle, but union protection is very low, so the market is very flexible and has a very high mobility rate (over 30% of workers change jobs every year).
Most in demand jobs in Denmark
The most in-demand jobs in Denmark are in the following sectors:
- IT sector and technology professions
- Engineering
- Health, (doctors, nurses, etc.)
- Tourism and hospitality
- School and teaching
- Renewable and green energy
- Bio-technological sector
The Danish government compiles a list of shortage occupations in Denmark twice a year,Positive List of Shortage Occupations aimed at workers from non-EU countries, but EU workers may also be interested in checking to see if their occupation is on the list
In Denmark there are professions regulated for which it is necessary to obtain recognition of diploma in order to work.
Working in Denmark, useful resources
- Working in Denmark, a guide to the Danish labour market
- Work in Denmark, useful information
- Rules and rights, working in Denmark
Looking for job in Denmark
you can use the following options:
1 Linkedin, by making professional contacts
2 Search the companies on the Internet and send your CV
- Europages, you can choose the field of activity that interests you
- Kompass, you can check if the company you are interested in is present in Denmark
- Yellow Pages, you can find the complete list of companies in the country
3 Go to the company’s headquarters
In the Danish hospitality industry, there are many permanent and seasonal positions in bars, hotels and restaurants in Copenhagen and other Danish cities. You can apply not only via the Internet (if this is possible), but also in person and submit your CV. Even if you do not know Danish and are not picky, it is easy to find a job (cleaner, runner, waiter, dishwasher, etc.) with a wage of about 12/13 €/hour gross. Unfortunately, this is not much, but this is the wage for unskilled jobs that you can find within a few days even without knowing Danish.
I remind you that in Denmark, in Billund, there is one of the 8 lego parks (legoland) in the world. There are themed play areas, restaurants, hotels and bars. It is visited by over one and a half million people every year, on the legoland website you will find all the information on employment opportunities. I also point out Lego website, where you can see all the company’s job openings around the world, but most of them are related to the production site in Billund, Denmark.
4 Eures the European mobility website
5 Employment offices,(Jobcentre) distributed throughout the country
6 job search websites
- Work in Denmark, the Danish Civil Service website not only has the largest database of job vacancies, but also offers the possibility to post your profile at CV so that companies can view it. It also contains a lot of information about finding a job, employment regulations, etc.
- Jobindex, job offers and other information
- The Local, English language jobs in Denmark
- Jobbank, for young people and graduates
- Nyuddannet, recruitment agency
- Jobsincopenhagen, job vacancies in Copenhagen
- Ofir, job offers in different sectors
- Gastrojob, vacancies in hospitality
- jobscenen, creative and artistic jobs
- Landbrugetsjobservice, agricultural jiobs
- Job Guide, contains all websites for job search in Denmark, divided into categories
7 Seasonal work in agriculture
During the fruit and vegetable harvest, it is possible to find seasonal jobs in Denmark. This can be a way to earn some money and get to know the culture of the country. Working hours vary depending on the type of fruit and vegetables, but generally range from June to October. All information about harvest times and addresses of farms can be found on the websites:
8 Employment agencies
Employment agencies are called vikarbureau in Danish. If you type this word into Google, you will be shown agencies in various cities in Denmark.
9 Job Fairs
- Karriere Dagen, the most important job fair held in the four largest cities in Denmark. These job fairs are always a good way to meet potential employers and companies in need of personnel.
10 Working in hospitality
In Denmark, too, there are many job opportunities in the hospitality industry, in restaurants, pizzerias, ice cream parlours, etc. In some cases it is enough to know only English, which is a good opportunity to work in Denmark if you do not know Danish.
Danish salaries may seem high – a cook earns about €2,200 net a month, a waiter €1,800 net – but consider that a room in Copenhagen costs about €700 a month, plus expenses for transportation, food, entertainment, etc., and you can see that the cost of living is very high. To get an idea of current salaries in Denmark, you can take a look at the Lonstatistik website
Starting a Business in Denmark
For those interested in starting a business, it is useful to know that Denmark is ranked 3rd in the world in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business ranking. This does not mean that the business will automatically work, but at least you will not have problems with bureaucracy. In this context, I would like to point out some websites that contain useful information about starting a business in Denmark:
- Invest in Denmark, official website of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Doing business in Denmark, website of the Danish Business Authority
- Business in Copenaghen, website of the Municipality of Copenhagen
Denmark has many companies that are among the most competitive in the world, to name a few: the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, Danske Bank, and Møller-Maersk (oil and shipping). The country also attracts a large number of foreign investments every year.
