Copenhagen is Europe’s best talent destination

Copenhagen ranks top in the 2017 European Cities Talent Competitiveness Index, praising for the city for its ability to grow talent and building global knowledge.

Copenhagen is the best city in Europe in terms of growing, attracting, retaining and creating attractive conditions for talent, according to the international business school INSEAD.

“Copenhagen takes the top spot due to the city’s ability to communicate Nordic values in management and lifestyle and its ability to implement a holistic strategy of attracting and retaining talent”, says Dr Bruno Lanvin, Executive Director for Global Indices, INSEAD.

Related news: Copenhagen named European city of the year 2017

Copenhagen is a strong base for business and a happy place to live

The freshly published 2017 European Cities Talent Competitiveness Index (ECTCI) by INSEAD, the first of its kind, ranks 27 cities located in European countries. Copenhagen is the overall index leader, ranked Top 3 in four of the six pillars:

• No. 1 Grow (major universities, tertiary enrolment, vocational enrolment)
• No. 1 Build global knowledge (airport connectivity, workforce with tertiary education)
• No. 3 Attract (quality of life, GDP per capita, environmental quality)
• No. 3 Enable (expenditure on R&D, % of households with internet access, presence of Forbes Global 2000 companies).

Related news: Copenhagen 4th most liveable city in the world

“Greater Copenhagen has a very strong talent base available for companies who wish to invest in or conduct R&D in areas such as life sciences, healthtech, cleantech, ICT and smart city technologies. Copenhagen ranks top in most happiness and quality of life indexes and offers its citizens a green, clean and balanced way of life – which the majority of internationals who move here really appreciate”, says Claus Lønborg, CEO, Copenhagen Capacity, who assists foreign investors, companies and talents in making a successful start in Greater Copenhagen.

“If you are considering setting up a business in Northern Europe, Greater Copenhagen offers a very attractive and highly competitive business environment.”

Related news: World Bank – Denmark is the easiest country for business in Europe

Denmark offers the world’s lowest employer costs

Copenhagen does not only offer a highly skilled workforce, the talents also come at a very competitive price. Salary levels for researchers, postdocs and other highly skilled employees such as engineers and R&D team leaders are lower than in other major cities in Northern Europe.

Moreover, Denmark offers the world’s lowest employer costs with employers paying less than one percent (and maximum EUR 1,350) per employee per year in social contributions. In Denmark, employer-paid social security contributions are less than 1% of the salary – in neighbouring Sweden it is 32%.

Top 10 cities in the 2017 European Cities Talent Competitiveness Index

1. Copenhagen
2. Zurich
3. Helsinki
4. Gothenburg
5. Madrid
6. Paris
7. Eindhoven
8. Dublin
9. Cardiff
10. Berlin

Read more about the European Cities Talent Competitiveness Index 2017 here.

How can we help your company?

If you want to know more about business or career opportunities in Greater Copenhagen, please contact Talent Director, Nikolaj Lubanski, via email nl@copcap.com or phone: +45 22 16 15 11.