– Workers, of course, have an interest in claiming the opposite, but now we have the facts to prove that companies can still find the workers they need. The available workforce in Denmark is ample. Let us focus on finding jobs for the unemployed who can work instead for pushing for more unnecessary reforms, says LO-Vice President Ejner K. Holst.
There are still 114,900 unemployed workers who can and want to work. It therefore seems nonsensical to Ejner K. Holst to discuss reforms to ensure a bigger labour supply and an import of foreign workers. Especially now that figures from the Ministry for Employment show that the number of unsuccessful recruitments is as low as 0.6 percent of the total employment.
Unions can help companies find the right employees
– In many cases, it is also a question of companies who fail to look for workers in the obvious places. Less than one in ten companies in the survey had asked the unemployment insurance fund or the trade union for help in trying to find workers. Therefore, this is a challenge that could, in many cases, be solved by reconsidering one?s own strategy instead of calling for political action, says Ejner K. Holst.
More than 40 percent of the affected companies reply that they could have done more to attract the necessary manpower. At the same time, the survey shows that the there is great potential when it comes to skilled labour.
Skills? upgrading of unskilled workers holds great potential
– We have a number of schemes, such as the as the adult apprenticeship scheme and the skills improvement initiative that are suitable for upgrading unskilled workers to become skilled workers. But these schemes are not used as often as they could. If we increase the use of these schemes, we can, relatively quickly, generate more skilled labour. So let us focus on upgrading the workers who are ready to work and who want to contribute, says Ejner K. Holst.