This autumn, businesses on Lolland will have a new opportunity to look for employees beyond the country’s borders.
Lolland Municipality and Workindenmark are inviting businesses to the international job fair Live & Work on Lolland, Denmark, which will be held online on 11 November on the European platform European Job Days.
The initiative comes at a time when the struggle to find labour is a major issue in both Lolland Municipality and the rest of Region Zealand.
A new recruitment survey from the Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment, STAR, showed in April that Region Zealand is the part of the country where employers find it hardest to fill vacant positions. 11.8 per cent of recruitment attempts in the region ended without a hire, compared with 10.5 per cent nationwide. In total, there were 6,100 unfilled recruitment attempts in the period from June to November 2025.
- International recruitment will become an important part of the solution for many businesses in the coming years. With the job fair, we are taking a concrete step towards making it easier for businesses to work with international candidates, says Charlotte Lund Andreasen, sector manager at Lolland Municipality.
Great need up to 2040
On Lolland, an analysis from Silverlining Research shows that the lack of qualified labour is the biggest barrier to growth. The analysis is based on responses from 192 of the 1,453 businesses surveyed and points out that the shortage of employees is putting pressure on wage levels, costs and competitiveness, while recruitment from outside Denmark remains an unrealised potential for many local employers.
More than half of those experiencing recruitment difficulties say that this has had concrete consequences. These include lost revenue, lower earnings and orders that have to be turned down.
An earlier analysis by COWI has also pointed out that Lolland could already be short of between 700 and 7,700 employees by 2030, depending on growth. By 2040, the need could rise to between 3,200 and 11,500 workers.
The trend is also linked to population figures. The number of Danish citizens aged 20 to 69 has fallen by 1,966 people over five years. In the same period, the number of foreign citizens in the same age group has increased by 831 people.
Nevertheless, international recruitment is still not a fixed part of everyday life in many companies. In the Silverlining analysis, 28 per cent said that they had experience of hiring international employees.
The companies that have tried it assess the experience as mainly positive. Conversely, the analysis indicates that many others hold back because of uncertainty about, among other things, language, skills and the schemes that can help them get started.
Virtual stands and interviews
The job fair is being held in collaboration with Workindenmark and will be marketed internationally through Workindenmark and the EURES network, which can reach candidates across Europe.
Each participating company will have a virtual stand where they can present themselves, create job postings, receive and respond to applications, chat with candidates in real time and conduct online job interviews.
About six weeks before the fair, companies must create a profile and post relevant vacancies on the platform. On the day itself, they can decide how actively they want to take part. All communication on the platform takes place in English.
Lolland Municipality estimates that participation typically only requires a limited time commitment both before and during the fair.
Must also promote Lolland as a place to live
At the same time, the fair is intended to give candidates an insight into Lolland as a place to live and build a life. This includes, among other things, the housing market, schools, nature and leisure opportunities.
- With the job fair, our local companies gain access to a larger international pool and the opportunity to enter into direct dialogue with candidates from across Europe. At the same time, it is an important opportunity to show that Lolland is not only a place with job opportunities, but also a place where you can build a good life, says Charlotte Lund Andreasen.
