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Educated people are avoiding Copenhagen

Copenhagen is losing the battle to attract the highly educated, reports think tank

Denmark is losing billions in tax revenues, and lagging in job growth because Copenhagen is unable to attract highly skilled immigrants and lags far behind cities such as Stockholm, Stuttgart, and even Dublin, report Seven59.dk and DR.dk.

A new report by the Copenhagen Economics think-tank, comparing cities in Europe’s most important growth regions in terms of the percentage of highly-skilled manpower, shows that the Danish capital over the past decade has been amongst the worst at attracting skilled foreigners.

»We need to increase the numbers by ten per cent at least,« says senior economist at Copenhagen Economics Claus Frelle. »That would boost the region’s GDP by up to DKK 1 billion.«

Companies don’t hire enough internationals

Copenhagen’s mayor Frank Jensen acknowledges the problem. He says he’s determined to target the extra potential needed.

»One of the problems appears to be that there are too many small and medium-sized companies that don’t have the resources, or the know-how, to hire internationally and employ English as a working language.«

»Additionally, Danes aren’t always as open and receptive to foreigners as they seem to believe.«

See also articles: Universities struggle in brain game and Students stay if they have job offer, love

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