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The huge societal value of Indian and other foreign IT workers – report
Ben Hamilton
April 11th, 2023
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Numbers have nearly tripled in the last decade to the extent that they made a societal value contribution of 14 billion kroner in 2022
Foreign IT workers making a huge contribution to Denmark (photo: pexels.com)
Last month, Danmarks Statistik confirmed a 73 percent jump in Indians moving to Denmark for work in 2022, during which around 2,800 made the country their new home.
And now new figures reveal that a considerable number are IT workers to the extent that India accounts for 11.3 percent of the foreigners employed in the sector.
In total, foreigners account for 13.4 percent of the workforce in the IT industry (compared to 12.2 percent across all jobs) – a societal value contribution of 14 billion kroner, according to industry interest group IT Branchen.
Foreign numbers have nearly tripled
The number of foreigners employed in the IT sector has increased by 180 percent over the last decade, reports IT Branchen’s website itb.dk. In the same period, foreign worker numbers have merely doubled.
“There is a lot of talk about the value of attracting foreign labour to industries that are struggling to find enough employees,” said Natasha Friis Saxberg, the CEO of industry interest group IT Branchen.
“But they don’t just help the individual company solve tasks and complete orders. They also contribute significantly to the economy of Danish society, and therefore we have a great interest in making Denmark a first choice for foreign workers.”
Sweden also a major contributor
The Nordic countries provide 17 percent of the foreign IT workforce (compared to 10 percent in general), with Sweden accounting for 10 percent. Other EU countries account for 43 percent (49) and non-EU countries 40 percent (41).
India’s contribution is all the more impressive given that only it provides 2.5 percent of the foreign employees in Denmark.
Saxberg contends that the figures are a step in the right direction, but more must be done to make Denmark “an attractive country for foreign specialists”, such as reducing the waiting times for CPR numbers and bank accounts, along with the removal of other “administrative hassles”.
“We must remove the barriers that the companies point to”, concludes Natasha Friis Saxberg.
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