It should be great to be a skilled worker on Bornholm
– Bornholm is short of skilled workers
By Joan Øhrstrøm
June 2021
There is already a lack of skilled labour on Bornholm, and it could quickly become a bigger problem. However, Business Center Bornholm is trying to attract more skilled workers to the island through campaigns targeted at young people in education and potential newcomers who already have a vocational qualification.
If you have a bright spark, it can be a good idea to become an electrician, because then you are virtually guaranteed a job with plenty of voltage. According to the chair of Business Center Bornholm (BCB), Karen Bladt, the island's business community is practically screaming for skilled labour. BCB has therefore – in cooperation with a number of partners – launched the project ”Skilled is Cool”, which aims to get more young people to choose a vocational education and to prevent dropouts during training.
– It is actually a nationwide problem that many young people think they must have an upper secondary education. We are going to lack them in the vocational field, so we really want more to choose a vocational education instead, she says, pointing out that in addition to a shortage of electricians, there is also a lack of carpenters and other skilled workers for the entire construction and installation sector.
In the long run, we are all going to lack skilled professionals on the island. Every time a company needs a technical employee on Bornholm, there simply aren't that many to choose from.
The initiative to get more young people to qualify as skilled workers cuts across industries.
– I think that also works better than individual industries going out and launching their own initiatives, says Karen Bladt.
There is already close cooperation between the industries, Campus Bornholm, the trade unions and the various employers' organisations. However, it is not easy to get young people to choose a vocational education instead of an upper secondary education.
– It is really difficult. But the ”Faglært er Fedt” project focuses on how we can reach the young people, she says, mentioning that the campaign tries to reach them both on social media and through role models, so that the students have someone to mirror themselves in. And in future, work will be done to open young people's eyes already in secondary school to what a working life with a vocational education can offer.
– We must work together to get right down into primary schools and explain what people actually do when they work as carpenters, electricians or in industrial production. Another way to make vocational training attractive is by helping companies provide good apprenticeship placements, so that it is a positive experience for young people to complete their education, she explains.
Bornholm is lacking skilled labour
Another method of securing enough skilled labour on Bornholm is to get those who are already skilled to move to the island.
– We do a lot to draw attention to the fact that there are actually plenty of exciting businesses here on Bornholm and good jobs to be had, says Karen Bladt, who believes that the path to growth for the island's business community is precisely to a large extent to be found by educating our young people and attracting new residents to the island.
Business Center Bornholm is therefore working with Bornholm Regional Municipality on the island's newcomer service, which aims to make moving to the island attractive.
– It is the long haul. We need both to raise awareness of Bornholm and Bornholm-based businesses, and alongside that comes an almost hand-held effort to help those who would like to move to Bornholm by showing them what job opportunities there are and helping them get started over here, says Karen Bladt.
She also points out that automation and digitalisation can give the island's business community a helping hand, but she does not believe that automation will be able to completely replace skilled workers in the future.
– The hands we have over here must be used wisely, and if we can automate processes, the burning platform of labour shortages becomes a bit less burning. But it is typically skilled workers who can operate advanced machines. And a very large proportion of the Bornholm workforce is leaving the labour market over the course of a few years, so we are going to lack labour, she emphasises.
Laura Pedersen is one of the young people from Bornholm who has taken the vocational route. Photo: Jacob Jepsen.